DayDream
by Natural High
Summary: You can escape reality in your dreams. You can escape your dreams in reality. But can you ever escape yourself? Chapter 9's up! end of part 1
1. Dreams

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Disclaimer: Hey, the setting, backstory, characters, and RPG gaming market are owned by Square. Still, the rest is mine (OCs and, well, the story) and it's all I have so please don't take it.

WARNING!!!!!!!!!! Spoilers- This fic is based on the events of Final Fantasy X, and therefore reveal events of Final Fantasy X. If you haven't beaten the game then you may want to avert your eyes…

One more warning, this is actually a repost of something I had written a while ago called 'spira's dream' under the name madcow, its been a little edited and cleaned up, and I intend to start back up where I left off, but just so you know this isn't plagiarism. Or it is but it's against myself and I'm sure I can settle that outside of court^^

And to the admins, yes this is the only copy uploaded at this time

Tidus plunged into darkness. Ice water ripped at his skin and flooded his mouth, pounding through him like thunder and breathing life into his lifeless form. 

FEELING. The sensation flooded down every nerve and pumped through every vein. His eyes snapped open and he choked as the water gripped his throat. Arms moved on instinct and legs kicked out. 

He thrashed his head around, trying to spot something, _anything,_ in the blackness, but it closed in from all sides. There was nothing but his burning lungs and the cold numbing his skin. 

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No! Tidus fought against the water, pushing, kicking, thrashing, trying to get away. The darkness didn't move. It continued to swallow him, eating through mind and body. His arms and legs weakened. The burning in his lungs began to fade, and he became tired. A bubble escaped from his lips and rolled across his cheek. It seemed far away. 

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Wait. He turned over and looked again. The bubble drifted towards a pale blue light, barely shining through the darkness. 

The buzzer signaled wild cheering from the stands. Bone-crunching music pounded through the stadium like a tidal wave. Neon flashed and the earthshattering beat pulsed through the crowds. 

Yuna cheered, letting herself get caught up in the stadium's raging energy. She leaned over the balcony and shouted into the storm, with the sphere-pool's cool light splashing over her. 

The buzzer sounded again and the players flew like hawks. Cutting through the water in a dive, a center impacted his pray. He rolled to kill momentum, chucking the blue ball across the sphere where it thudded securely in the reciver's hands, but a tackle from below sent it spinning again and the player reeled backwards. The ball sailed back over the centerline as whisp of blood trailed from its captor's mouth. The crowd screamed applause.

Tidus swooped in, ripping the ball from the waiting hands of a defense. The girl caught his foot instead, right in the gut. He rightened himself as she fell away, just in time to spot the other D closing in, positioned for a full tackle. Tidus didn't miss a beat. 

Twirling past lunging arms, he kicked off the startled player's back. Then using the stolen momentum he launched into a twisting summersault. Frantic hoots and whistles poured from the stands. At the peak of the second turn, Tidus uncurled upside down in the water and let the ball fall. 

His eyes met the goalie's. Sphere-cams caught his cocky smile on the overhead displays for everyone to see. Time slowed. The crowd quieted. A blitzball hovered before a stunned goalie and Tidus hung at the climax of his last flip. Two thousand eyes focused on him. 

Legs sliced down in a tight arch, and the buzzer's tone was almost lost in roaring cheers. 

Yuna strained to shout above the crowd as Tidus bowed to his fans. They all screamed and clapped and whistled for him. They loved him for moments like that.

The star turned in her direction and she could feel him glance up at her, if only for a second. She smiled and waved and he smiled back. The buzzer blared again and the ball was launched. A thousand people watched as it soared through the water.

The game lasted another half-hour before the last buzzer cut the air. The heavy music subsided, leaving only the weary applause of the crowd. The teams shook hands and the players began exiting the pool. People filed out of the stadium in a daze, with the last rock chords echoing in their ears and lights burning in their eyes.

Yuna weaved her way down to the sphereside boxes where some people crowded, hoping to get a glimpse of the winning team. They pushed each other to get a better look, but Yuna was able to slip through to the front. Two girls next to her giggled.

"Oh my god! Did you see that shot?"

"Oh yea! He is amazing!"

"And sooooo cute!"

She ignored them, looking over to the sphere exit where a player approached. The girls got quiet as he climbed through the portal. His face broke water's surface and he stepped onto the platform. 

Tidus took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Water ran from his hair and dripped down his face. He opened his eyes and the people cheered. 

Smiling and waving, he walked towards the locker rooms. 

"Hey thanks. No, really, you guys are the best. Thanks for coming." Yuna put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. Tidus turned and spotted her. Blue light from the sphere still glowed in his eyes.

"Hey!" As he walked over, Yuna could feel the other girl's eyes on her.

"Hi." She said. "That was really great!" that had sounded a little girlier than she'd wanted it to, but he smiled.

"Glad you liked it." A drop of water ran down his chin and dripped onto the ground. "Uh, I need to go dry off," he said, glancing over his shoulder. "But I'll meet you out front in a few minutes, okay?"

She nodded and he walked through the exit. Yuna looked after him, smiling to herself, when she noticed the other two girls gaping at her with stunned expressions. Blushing, she turned and made her way back through the crowd.

Outside, the evening air was cool. People talked and laughed around the stadium. Post-game chatter hummed under lightposts and couples walked together down the streets. 

Yuna sat on the pavement with her head tilted back, looking up at the monstrous buildings. They reached all the way into the sky, their lights gleaming like constillations against the star-dusted horizon. She closed her eyes and sighed. 

Loud footsteps broke the trance. She looked around to see Tidus running over. 

"Hey." He stopped to catch his breath as she got up.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." He straightened up and stretched. "You ready to run?"

"Huh?" She heard yelling coming from the stadium gate. A mob of crazed fans flooded onto the street, shouting and yelling Tidus's name.

He looked at her grinning. "Lets go!" they turned together and ran down the street.

Yuna struggled to keep up. Tidus stopped every now and then so they could catch their breath before the crowed sent them running and laughing. They passed lit up signs shining from the sides of buildings and waterfalls that cascaded down bottomless towers, twinkling in the sunset. Phosphorescent lines lit up the roads and giant airships lit up the sky. 

Tidus stopped again under a streetlight and leaned over to catch his breath. Yuna ran up beside him and also fell over in a winded haze. They both stood there panting for a while before relaxing a little. Tidus looked over at Yuna and started to laugh. She looked back at him and started laughing too.

"You ok?" he panted. She stood up, wiping her forehead 

"I'm fine. Thanks." She glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the crowd. "You have some very devoted fans." 

"Yeah." He straightenend up and walked across the street. The crowd was coming closer "Come on!" 

He jogged into a dark ally between two towering buildings and Yuna followed. As soon as they crossed into the shadows, Tidus crouched down and pressed his back against the ally wall. 

Yuna looked at him with amusement. "What are you doing?" 

"Shhh!" The crowed was coming around the bend. Yuna moved next to Tidus and pressed her back against the wall too. The crowed got louder as it approached the alleyway. Yuna could see some kids at the front slow down and eventually stop altogether, glancing around in confusion. 

After several moments the cheering mob dispersed, uttering sounds of disappointment. Tidus pointed to a corner of the ally where Yuna could barely make out a ladder in the wall of the building. Trying to get up without making much noise, he walked over to the ladder and started to climb. Yuna followed.

It was twilight at the top. Tidus reached down and helped Yuna stumble off the ladder, then he turned and walked over to the roof's balcony. She came up next to him and looked out. The height was startling, and she had to step back to steady herself. Tidus laughed again, softly.

"I know, amazing isn't it?" She gave him a nervous glance and nodded. He leaned against the barrier and looked up at her.

"So… you liked the game?" His cocky smile still lingered on his face.

"It was… Amazing." She went to lean on the balcony, but changed her mind and instead just looked out at the tops of the buildings. "I could never do anything like that." 

"Sure you could." He said it in his optimistic tone. She gave him a doubtful look and he thought about it. "Ok, maybe you couldn't." He shifted around and looked at the sky, leaning his hands on the balcony. . "But you're amazing already, so you don't have to." She smiled in spite of herself

The last members of the cheering mob were wandering away down the street. "You know," Yuna said "It's a little sad that they didn't get to meet the star." Tidus chuckled

"You haven't seen what happens when they catch you." They both laughed again. 

The last gigles died down, leaving only a faint echo of music drifting from somewhre in the city. Yuna noticed he was still looking at her, and she began to blush. She turned back to the balcony.. 

"It really is beautiful…" Her voice was far away as she gazed into the horizon. The buildings formed a majestic silhouette against the fading light. From there it was hard to distinguish the lights from the stars; they could have been the same, like a city made of sky.

"Yea, it is." Tidus was standing next to her and she felt his hand on her shoulder. She turned as his other arm moved around her. Yuna looked up at him. His eyes had a gentle gaze and he was smiling a stupid half smile. He was so close she could feel his breath. He tilted his head and moved closer. So close. She leaned towards him and closed her eyes.

"Yuna?"

"Mmm?"

"Yuna, wake up!"

Though every feeling and instinct told her not to, she opened her eyes. Lulu stared back. 

"Come on now, Lady Yuna. You've got a long day ahead of you." Yuna moaned in protest but Lulu pulled the sheets off her bed and headed for the door.

"I'll cover the schedule over at breakfast, then we can begin working on the guest list for the calm anniversary." with that, she left. 

Yuna waited a second to be safe, then buried her head into her pillow. Lulu poked back through the door. 

"You've got three minutes before I send in Kimahri" 


	2. Heroes

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Just so you know, I really don't think FFX needs a sequel. Course that didn't stop me… -_-; and though FFX-2 is a great game, the 'story' is kinda killing me

Heroes

"Hey! Are you ok!?" Gatta raised his torch to get a better look. 

The night patrol was usually very pleasant, with the moon reflecting across the water and the sound of waves breaking on the beach. Even when it was cold out, it was still a nice break from the drill and kill of his job. Most of the time he'd looked forward to it, but lately the walk didn't seem so appealing. People had started spreading rumors about strange sightings in the temple and mysterious things happening around the village. 

Though Gatta was old enough not to get drawn in by childhood ghost stories, walking alone through the darkness seemed a little less peaceful that night. 

But it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. 

After all, when you're a captain of the guard, you can stand being alone at night, right? Nothing that Gatta couldn't handle.

Until he saw a body washed up on the shore.

"Uh…" He glanced behind him at the night fires back in the village. They seemed so far off. He gripped his torch a little tighter. What now? He could go get help, or at lest report it. What if the guy was still alive? _What would Luzzu do?_ Gritting his teeth, Gatta took a breath and made his way towards the body.

The figure lay facedown on the edge of the shore, with sea foam washing up around its legs. As Gatta got closer, he could see the person's clothes. They looked strange, maybe Al bhed, but for a moment he thought he recognized them. 

"H-Hello?" He kicked the body lightly. No response. He rolled it over and studied the person's face. It didn't take long to identify. 

"No way." Sand caked on the guy's features and a few strands of seaweed hung from his hair, but there was no doubt about it. 

"How the hell…?" Gatta soon realized that the body had to be dead, and took a step back.

After thinking about the situation a little, He decided that the best course of action would be to return to the village as quickly as possible and get help. Gatta began to make his speedy journey back to Besaid village when he heard a cough. It startled him so much that he almost tripped over himself. Turning slowly, he saw the drowned man cough up some water and roll onto his side. 

Gatta didn't know what to do. Most of him wanted to turn and run like hell back to the campfires, but Luzzu stopped him. There was no question what Gatta had to do, and he was going to do it. Going against all his instincts, He lifted the survivor by the arms and began dragging him towards Besaid.

---

The sun shined cheerily through the window, but Yuna wished it would just go away. She stood at the mirror, idly combing her hair. There was always something that had to be done, but by pretending to be busy you could give yourself at least a little time to think. 

Hmmm. She tried to remember what adventures her schedule had in store for today. There were always letters that had to be signed and speeches that had to be written. Maybe a foreign minister would stop by for a visit. Wouldn't that be a treat?

She put down the brush and apologized automatically. That's not the fairest thing to say, and besides, they probably don't like traveling over here in the first place… 

Cold water poured from the faucet. Yuna splashed some over her face. The shock helped her wake up a bit. 

You're just grumpy today, no reason to take it out on anyone else. She looked up at the mirror. A pair of multicolored eyes stared back.

Yuna sighed. "I shouldn't be here." She knew she wasn't the leader that Spira needed or deserved, but there wasn't any way she could say it. She couldn't tell Lulu, and she couldn't abandon the people. 

Standing there, looking at her reflection, memories came flooding back. _Remember then? When you lived every moment and never had to think about the future? Sure, there was always some fear and regret, but at least you knew you were doing the right thing._

"Yuna!" Lulu called from somewhere in the mansion. "Hurry up!" Yuna snapped out of her daydream and watched her memories spiral down the drain. Glancing back up at the mirror, she practiced her carefree smile, then hurried out. 

---

Lulu was sitting at the table going over her list when Yuna rushed in. 

"I'm here! I'm here." She reached the table and flopped into a seat as Kimahri came over with plates of food. 

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Lulu had an amused look on her face. "Rest well?" Yuna thanked Kimahri before responding with a casual "Uh-huh." She took a small bite of an apple, glanced over the other delicious foods set out on the table, then looked back at Lulu. She was still smiling, or as close to smiling as Lulu ever got.

"What?" 

"You were talking in your sleep."

"Oh…" Yuna looked back at her food with renewed interest.

"You know," Lulu's voice became serious again. "It's been a year. Things change, there's nothing you can do about that. But you should try to move on." Yuna just studied the bite mark in her apple. Shaking her head, Lulu turned back to her list.

"Anyway, there are several letters from the Crusaders that you should respond to, and we have to finish writing that speech for the Anniversary celebration." 

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Well I got that right, Yuna thought. 

"Which brings us to the party. It's only two days away. I have all the preparations set up, but I still need to go over the invitation list again, just to make sure. Let's see," She scanned down the paper. "Of course there are the other maesters, and the Al bhed regent will be there," She sighed, aggravated. "But sadly our treasurer won't be able to attend."

"Let Wakka be." Yuna said. "He deserves a vacation. Besides, the blitzball tournaments are important to him." 

"He's so in love with that stupid game." Lulu mumbled, shaking her head. She looked back at the list. "Issaru and Donna will be there." 

"Well that's nice." Just then, there was a knock at the door. A guard looked in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but there is some mail for Lady Yuna." They both got up from the table and made their way to the courtyard.

Outside there were two large carriages. Several guards were coaxing two animals out of the backs and another man stood watching the whole scene nervously. A chocobo stepped down from one of the carriages as Yuna approached.

"Ca-Careful! Mind the roof will you!? Easy there!" The man noticed Yuna and turned. "Greetings my lady." He said, bowing hastily. He pulled a letter from his pocket and began to read.

"In honor of your victory over sin, please except this gift. Both of them are trained for riding, and they should be fairly easy to handle. Perhaps they may even remind you of your adventuring days. I hope you enjoy they and I would like to thank you for your services to Spira. You are truly our guiding light."

Yuna smiled a real smile for the first time in weeks. She was a little embarrassed in front of the messenger and Lulu, but the letter made her feel much better. 

The guards finally persuaded the second beast from the wagon. A large cat padded onto the ground, it's shining white fur streaked with black stripes. 

"That's very generous." Yuna watched as the guards led both animals around the mansion. "Who sent it?"

"It was… um…. Hold on a second…" He searched the page. "Actually, there isn't any name." Lulu chuckled.

"It looks like Yuna has a secret admirer." Yuna ignored her. 

The messenger opened a bag hanging at his side and began searching through it. "There's also… ah here it is… This." He pulled out a blue recording sphere and handed it to Yuna. 

"Thank you." 

The messenger bowed again before returning to his carriages.

When Yuna got back to the table, she turned the sphere on. Wakka's grinning face flickered across its surface. 

"Hey! How ya holdin up without me? I thought I'd let ya know how things were goin out here." Lulu threw a disgusted look at the ceiling. Wakka acted like he saw it. He pulled at the collar of his robes "Lulu's probably pretty ticked, huh? I'm real sorry about leavin work and everything, but I promised the boys I'd be there for em. Anyway, I'm gonna make it up to ya by winnin the tournament this season! We got a new secret weapon. This kid is amazing! She can shoot like a- ah well you'll see everythin in a week anyway. By the way, I'm sorry bout missin the Anniversary party. I'm sure you'll have a great time without me, though. I can't wait to see you at the stadium. In a week then, ya? 

Wakka winked and then the sphere flashed off. Well, there was something to look forward too. Yuna's day was starting to look up.

---

A loud horn sounded as the blitzball hit the net. Not bad. 

Wakka watched the players from the sidelines, wearing his old blitz outfit. Being treasurer was a great deal and all, but the wardrobe just wasn't his style. Being back in his yellow overalls made him realize how much he hated those stiff robes. How the heck could the maesters wear that stuff all the time? It was a large price to pay for looking important. _Oh well, we're blitzin now, so no point in complaining._

The stadium was empty during practice and it seemed quiet without the cheering crowds. Wakka could even hear the water bubble in the blitzball's wake. It made him realize how much of the game was lights and music. There was an echoing thud as two players collided and the ball was sent floating towards the rim. 

Kira recovered it. 

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Ahh, here we go. Wakka pulled out a pair of binoculars. He needed to get a real picture of what this kid was all about. 

The ronso moved like a dolphin, swooping down to collect the ball before turning effortlessly, letting her momentum carry her back towards the centerline. She soared, weaving through the water with balance and grace.

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She has a nice style, Wakka thought. Moving with joyful and carefree agility, she looked like she was flying. Her skill was definitely something. None of the boys could even touch her. With the slightest motion she curved just out of the reach of anyone approaching. 

Letty struggled to catch up to her, but wasn't nearly fast enough. She was obviously showing off, but doing a pretty good job of it. Kira had covered two thirds of the pool in under three seconds, and Wakka could see his team getting anxious.

Datto waited about 20 feet in front of the goal, with Jassu close behind him. Knowing she wouldn't be able to outmaneuver them at this range, he didn't bother to go after her. She apparently realized that too, because she didn't try to avoid them, just continued straight ahead. Datto leaned forward, ready to lung, while Jassu braced his arms to aid the attack. 

As soon as she came within striking distance, Datto kicked off of Jassu for a tackle. Kira shifted her weight and came to a perfect stop. She tossed the blitzball up above the heads of the players, then, grabbing Datto's arms, she swung herself under his charging body. She slipped out between his legs, grabbing his ankles as she went. Then, pulling herself up so she was perpendicular to his back, she kicked off. 

Kira twisted as she launched from Datto and soared over Jassu in a graceful backward arch. The blitzball fell like a shooting star, landing neatly in Her arms. 

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No way! Wakka's mouth gaped like a fish. 

The confused Jassu spun around in bewilderment to see Kira finish her awesome jump. Ending in corkscrew several yards away, she rightened herself in the water, then turned back to him. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Botta with a dumbfounded look on his face. Kira lightly tossed the ball, pulling back her fist. She punched the ball as it came down, sending full force towards Jassu. He wasn't fast enough to dodge it, but . The blitzball connected with his elbow and ricocheted away. The force from the hit sent Jassu wildly off balance, but as he stumbled down he saw Botta catch the ball. 

Botta was caught off guard as the ball thudded into his hands. There was a moment of confusion before he noticed Kira speeding towards him like a shark. He had a second to glance nervously around the arena, looking for somewhere to throw the damn thing before she was on him. She threw her arms out to slow down as she planted one foot on Botta's thigh. The other landed square in his chest. Walking up him like a staircase, Kira kicked the ball from his grip and shoved him backwards in a single motion. 

The blitzball rose higher and higher, until it almost touched the top of the sphere. Kira floated alone in before the goal as the beaten players sunk around her. The ball began falling. She straightened, hovering directly below it with her back to the nervous goalie. Wakka watched intently as the ball bounced gently off her forehead and spiraled back up through the water. He could almost see Keepa gulp. 

The ronso jumped into a perfect back flip. The blitzball fell and Kira's shot came full circle.

"Whoa-ho-hoa!" Wakka looked as though the ball had just ricocheted into his head. Keepa clung to the edge of the goal, which now had a circular hole ripped through it. Kira just floated there looking very pleased with herself. 

Wakka blew his whistle. "Kay guys! That's enough for today, let's hit the showers, Ya?" He looked back to Kira. There was something about her floating there, with her arms folded across her chest and a self-righteous smile hanging on her face. It just seemed very familiar. 

The blitzers all swam to the exit, with Kira in the lead. Water ran from her hair and tail as she pulled herself out onto the platform. She shook some of it off, then leaned down and gave Jassu a hand. As he came through the barrier, she could see the bruise appearing on his arm. Jassu rubbed the spot a little, but didn't say anything.

"Uhh, sorry about that." She smiled apologetically. Jassu looked back with a shocked expression on his face. He didn't really know what to say. He wasn't used to getting apologies from people who just massacred him. It definitely wasn't something the Goers would do.

"Oh no problem, take hits like that all the time" He said with a weak smile.

"You did pretty good back there." Kira picked up a more friendly tone. "I didn't even think that you'd deflect that shot. I guess I got a little overconfident."

"Hey you still whipped us all pretty good." 

"Yeah, well…" 

Wakka broke in. "Kira! That was really somethin-" He stopped himself, then in a more professional tone said "Uh, when you're done in there, we should have a talk" With that, he headed for the locker room. 

"Well, coach seems to like you." 

"Really?" Kira looked after him. 

"Yea, I haven't seen him so excited in a long time." 

She smiled.

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Hope you like it so far. More to come! Tomarrow actually.


	3. Reality

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K, here's numba three on popular demand from all my fans (ha, I've got fans!! ^^)

Ahem. Sorry, almost lost my cool for a second. Anyway here ya go!

Reality

The kid opened his eyes. There were colors, reds and yellows and oranges, all forming a blurry pattern. He strained to focus and slowly the colors began to sharpen. Soon he could make out the woven cloth hanging from the ceiling. He raised his gloved hand and looked at it. It seemed fine, wrist worked ok. He flexed his fingers a little, watching them with dazed amusement. Yep that's ok. 

He tried lifting his head, but it was too heavy and his neck hurt. Letting his hand flop across his chest, he closed his sandy eyelids. Inhale, exhale... let's see. He tried moving his legs a little to test if they were broken, and flexed his other arm. Nothing hurt exceptionally, but every inch of him was sore. He groaned.

Soon after assessing that he was more or less ok questions started buzzing through his head. 

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Where am I? Who am I? And what the hell is going on? He tried to remember, searching his mind for clues. All he found was darkness. He remembered being cold and wet, and the pale light in the water. He tried harder. More darkness… shifting sand and flickering firelight. 

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Oh come on! He turned his head and pain shot through his neck. The view didn't improve much either. Light? Sand? What the heck did that mean? There had to be more than that! He glared at the ceiling. The light wasn't exactly great, and the cloth was hanging high enough above him that it could have been a roof. Maybe he was in a tent. Not much, but it was a start.

He couldn't hear anyone else nearby, other than some chirping insects outside. There was a kind of smoky smell in the air but it wasn't hot enough to be a fire nearby. He was lying on a coarse cloth, but couldn't be sure if it was ground or a bead. 

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Damn this is frustrating. 

Just then, sounds floated from outside. He listened closely. They were voices.

"It can't be. He died almost a year ago at the end of the pilgrimage." It sounded like a very old man, about sixty or seventy. 

"Look, I know it doesn't make any sense, but it's him. I'm positive." The second voice sounded younger, maybe around 18. He thought hard, but couldn't make a connection to either of them.

"Really? Well if that is indeed him, maybe you could share your thoughts on how he got here or possibly where he's been?" There was a pause, and the other voice mumbled something in response. He strained to block out the crickets in the background. he needed any answers he could get. 

The old guy started up again. "I agree that he does have a striking semblance. But before there is solid proof, I don't think we should go around shouting falsities. It isn't wise to start such rumors…" 

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Why don't these guys use names? he moaned to himself. _Who the heck is "He"!?!_

"It is possible, though." The young guy said. "Don't you think Maester Yuna would want to know, even if it isn't really him?"

Yuna! Tidus started up but his neck screamed with pain and he flopped back onto the cloth. Images came flooding back. The aeons, Lake Macalania, Yuna standing there, innocently, her eyes… 

Yes! He was remembering. Tidus let out a sigh of relief as the memories floated to the surface. There was Rikku and Lulu, and Wakka of course and Auron- Wait a minute, Yuna? A Maester? 

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I thought only crusty old guys could be- 

"I think the lady has enough to deal with right now. It's probably best if we just keep him here until he is well enough to travel. But, especially in the light of recent events, there seems to be little need to bother people with this matter." The younger one gave in.

"I guess you're right. Whoever he is, I'm sure he's had a pretty tough day." With that the voices stopped, and he was left alone with the crickets. The pain in his neck was dulling, but his head had started to hurt. He sighed painfully as the last couple of memories came back.

"It's Tidus. I'm Tidus."

---

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We are all greatful to you for keeping Spira alive. And I would like to thank you for keeping its dream alive. I hope that you have- Yuna scribbled out the last line. _I hope_… 

The moon crept between trees in the night forest. Cool breeze blew softly, rustling his hair. A thousand tiny pyreflies glimmered with electricity as they danced across the surface of the lake. Tears ran with water down her cheek.

Yuna shook her head. She must have looked so stupid, soaking wet and crying like a little girl. How could she have lost it like that? She let the fear build up for too long, had let herself slip up and break down. And of all the people in the world, she had messed up in front of him. 

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Such and Idiot.

He didn't seem to mind, though. Yuna blushed. She tried to focus back on the letter. _I hope that… _The memory came anyway. Her eyes closed as his hand brushed her cheek. It was just so….

Door! Yuna sat upright as Kimahri walked into the room, carrying some paper. He put it on the desk.

"Lulu says she needs speech." He said. Then looked closely at her. "Yuna okay?" 

"Yes!" she tried to gather herself a little and put on a happy face. "Yes, thank you." 

"Yuna shouldn't work so hard." He grumbled. "Should take a break." 

"Uh yes, maybe in a little bit." Kimahri nodded, then left.

She exhaled and dropped the smile. Her elbow bumped the letter as she turned back to it, revealing several small sketches of Tidus. 

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You still are a stupid little girl.

Pushing away from her desk she got up and walked into the hallway. She felt completely exhausted. It was probably just the work, she thought, dragging her hand along the stone wall. But there was always a kind of… emptiness, that followed her around. It wasn't just Tidus either, she assured herself. Whenever she wasn't focusing on signing a treaty or writing a speech, her mind wandered back to the days of her pilgrimage. 

"I am pathetic." She stared at the floor. "Lulu's running Spira, Wakka's playing blitzball, and Rikku's off rebuilding her city. I'm the only one who's still clinging to a memory." Taking her eyes from the floor, she found herself in the memorial room.

Weapons hung across the walls next to portraits and weathered maps. At one end was a picture of Yuna and her guardians on the hull of the airship. It was her favorite picture, with everyone standing together. Their faces brought back memories.

Auron was in the back, with one hand resting on the handle of his katana. His serious stare could be seen through shaded glasses, and his calm expression peaked from behind a raised collar. Next to him there was Kimahri, standing tall and immovable, like a mountain, with arms crossed over his chest. His eyes had the same petrifying look as always, but also a hint of amusement, just like the Kimahri she had known all her life. Poking up between the two was Rikku; her optimistic smile twinkled through their stoic auras. She only came up to their shoulders, and even then it looked like she was standing on tiptoes.

Then there was Wakka and Lulu. They were complete opposites, but there seemed to be some chemistry between them. Wakka stood on one side, with his blitzball cradled under one arm and a large grin on his face. He looked like he could break out laughing any second. Despite all his attempts to be athorative, he was still just a kid in a grownup's body. Lulu leaned at the other end of the spectrum. Cool and calculating, she always knew what was going on, and always the best way to deal with it. She stood off to the other side, with one flaming hand held out in front of her. Her expression was ice cold, and sharp enough to cut stone. 

Then finally there was Yuna and Tidus. They were at the front, Tidus in ready position, with the Brotherhood sword in one hand, and Yuna was standing next to him, holding her staff behind her. Tidus's sense of adventure and excitement was written all over his face. Just from his eyes you could tell he was ready to take on any challenge. Sometimes he could be a little impulsive, but that always made things more interesting.

Yuna was embarrassed to look at her own portrait. She had exaggerated herself a little as she painted. Her hair was slightly longer and had a much more carefree style in the wind. Her chest was larger too, she noted uncomfortably. It wasn't something she'd done on purpose, but it became painfully obvious looking at it now. 

"There you are." Lulu came up behind her. "Have you finished the letter yet?" Yuna shook her head absently, still looking at the painting. Lulu stopped to look too, and for a moment they both just stared at it.

"It's very good. You should be proud." She turned to Yuna. "I remember when you started it. Two months after the fight with Sin. Everything had started calming down, and one day you were moping around the house. Wakka told you to do something to take your mind off things. Do you remember?" 

Yuna smiled a little. "Yes"

"When you were just starting, you didn't like how it was turning out. But you stayed with it, and now look at what it has become. It's beautiful." Yuna didn't reply and there was silence again.

"… Do you ever think about it? The pilgrimage I mean." Lulu didn't answer, and Yuna continued. "Those days were so frightening. On the airship, I remember starring out the window and just wondering how it would end. Everyone was counting on us, and I was afraid of what might happen. It was scary and exciting…" She never took her eyes from the picture. "…I wish I was back there."

"Yuna, Spira is growing. People change and things die. There is no way to stop that, and to survive you have to change also. I know how you feel; I've felt the same way. Even after it seems like there is nothing left to live for, life goes on." Yuna lowered her eyes. "But if you stop daydreaming for a second and look around, you may realize that the world isn't so bleak." Lulu's voice was harsh, but she was right. She turned to leave. "By the way, you have a visitor."

-- 

It was evening by the time they'd finished eating, and the sun had already sunk into the ocean. Twilight gave a bluish tint to the marble buildings in Luca. The air was pleasant, with breeze that carried the sound and smell of the water with it. 

Wakka waved goodbye as he exited the Cafe and made his way to the street. There wasn't anybody else out because of the game; all the walkways were empty. After practice he'd treated the boys to an early dinner that consisted mostly of laughing and recalling old blitz stories. They were a nice bunch of guys, and hanging out with them helped Wakka forget all the stuff he was supposed to remember. _What would I do without em?_ He thought, walking from the lit-up storefront. 

Kira waited by a fountain in the middle of the street. The wind rustled her deep blue hair as she stared out across the ocean. Wakka jogged up to her.

"Hey" She took her attention from the water and smiled at him.

"Thanks for walking me home." 

"Ah, no problem. Finally gives us a chance to talk, ya?" She nodded and they started off down the white street. 

"So… why dontcha tell me about yourself? Like for starters, where'd ya learn to blitz like that?" Kira grinned. 

"Well, I've played since I was little, and I was always pretty good at it. My dad used to bet on the teams and he would always take me to the games." She looked around at the stone buildings and great curving archways. "I guess living in Luca, you get blitzball everywhere you look." 

Wakka chuckled. "Yea, I know what you mean." He gazed the horizon. "So, how long have ya lived here?" 

"My whole life." She answered simply. 

"Really?" Wakka fell silent, and for a while they just walked. But his curiosity got to him.

"Uhh, Kira… I don't mean any disrespect here or anythin, but I have to ask. It's just that, well you don't sound exactly-"

"Ronso?" She smiled. "I get that a lot." She brushed several strands of from her eyes. "I grew up here in Luca. Actually, I've never even been to the mountains before." 

"Oh." Wakka scratched uncomfortably at the back of his neck. "Well, that explains a lot." Kira just laughed lightly.

"You don't have to stress about it, I really don't care. Sometimes it's funny how people react, but I'm used to it." They both laughed a little. 

"Yea, well, I've learned not to judge a book by its cover. I'm just a little curious." Wakka felt a little easier now that that was out of the way. "Besides, you are an amazin blitzer."

She liked that. "Really?"

"Oh yea! I haven't seen moves like that since…" She waited. "Well, not in a while, ya?" Kira seemed to take it, and a look of satisfaction spread across her face. 

"Does that mean… I'm in?" She sounded like a hopeful kid asking for an autograph.

Wakka chuckled. "Well that's really up to the boys. Yaknow I'm not their 'official' coach anymore. But by the way they acted at dinner, yea I'd say you're in." 

"That's great! I've waited a while for this..." The excitement subsided slightly. "But yea, they _are_ a pretty crazy group." Kira said. 

"I wouldn't have em any other way though." Wakka answered. Stars were appearing overhead, but the horizon was still light blue. "Hey Kira? I wanna ask you somethin." 

"Yea?"

"Why'd you try out for the Aurochs?" He was aware of how dumb it sounded, but he continued. "I mean, did the Goers kick you out or somethin?" 

"The Goers?" She started laughing again. "I never even tried out for them! Their team may be good, but it takes more than that, yaknow? And every time they show up on the sphere it's just… ugh, I can't stand them! And, well, what's the point if you're not gonna have fun, right?" 

"Hehe, yea I guess ya got a point."

"The Aurochs were my favorite team when I was younger. All the other kids used to tease me about it, but I never stopped rooting for you guys. Guess I just have a thing for the underdogs."

"Uh thanks… I think." Wakka was still trying to get over the fact that a prodigy blitzer just fell into his lap right before the tournament. Again. He shook his head. What the Aurochs lacked in skill they made up with luck. 

"So you tried out because the Auroch's were your favorites, huh? That the only reason?"

Kira thought a moment. "Yea that's it. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

They walked beneath a giant arch and entered into one of Luca's main squares. The place was asleep. Everyone was out at the game. The echoing cheers from the stadium could be heard all the way in the town.

In the middle of the square was a gigantic statue of Tidus, lunging into the air out of a large fountain. His hands spread out to the side for balance, and an enormous blitzball rested on his forehead. Water flowed down the statue, raining from his hair and fingertips. 

Kira walked to the edge of the fountain. Her head only came up to Tidus's shin. Wakka followed her.

"I watched him all last season." She said, looking up at the statue. "He was just… incredible." 

Wakka grinned. "Yea, well, Tidus was one hell of a blitzer."

"Ha! I know. I'll never forget the tournament. I still can't believe you guys made the last round!" Kira leaned against the wall of the fountain. "That was the first game he played in, too. I remember my dad muttering about how the Aurochs finally hired somebody new. 'Hope he can swim' he said." 

"Haha! I bet he figured that out pretty soon, ya?"

"Ha, yea. The Goers threw their whole team at him but it didn't even slow him down! And then he made that shot!"

"Hm?" Wakka tried to remember.

"The Jecht shot!" She looked back at the statue in admiration. "Ever since that moment I've wanted to play just like him." 

"Really?" Wakka looked at the statue. It wasn't half-bad, actually. It always brought back memories of the pilgrimage. Ha, Tidus was always the lucky one. Wakka's statue in Besaid had come out looking like a grinning ape. Still, a statue in your name was nothin to laugh at.

"Well, seein you play today, I'd say you could probably even teach _him_ a few things, ya?"

"I wish." She looked back at Wakka. "You knew him, what was he like?"

"Tidus? Ah, he was a winner. He always had a smile, ya know? And other people always came first ta him. He could be a little slow sometimes…" He shook his head. "But it was always pretty funny. We were like brothers-" he paused for a second. "Anyway, you two'd probably hit it off."

Kira nodded. "He died on the pilgrimage though, right?"

"Ha! Nah, Tidus'd never die. He may not be here, but you won't find him in the farplane anytime soon."

There was a silence while she thought that over. "What happened to him?"

Wakka looked at the statue one more time. His face became solemn. "Maybe I'll tell ya sometime." Then he turned and they walked into town.

Right, come back tomarrow for the next one! And thanks for sticking with it so far. Trust me, you're almost at the interesting part ~_^


	4. Wake Up

Wake up

Tidus stood at the edge of the dock, looking at the water. The sunlight sparkled on its surface like a field of diamonds. He felt very at home by the water. It was the one thing he'd always known. It was everywhere. Zanarkand… Spira… everywhere. He was born from the ocean, and spent most of his time playing in a sphere pool. Heck, he even kissed Yuna for the first time in the water. Waves lapped against the dock. Weird.

Someone whistled. 

Huh?

He turned and saw her standing there.

"Yuna!" He ran up to her, but she didn't move. She looked happy, but detached, or districted. "Yuna! It's me, Tidus!" 

"Oh" she said, focusing on him. A small glimpse of recognition flashed in her eyes. "Yes, of course. Welcome back."

"Yeah, where have you been!?" Rikku shouted behind him. "You just disappear into thin air! Don't you care about us?" 

"Yes! Of course I do!" Yuna was silent. "I'm so sorry. I wish it could have been different. I never wanted to hurt you." She didn't respond. He reached out to touch her, but couldn't. His hand passed through her like air. Her stare became impatient, and suddenly she wasn't Yuna anymore.

"I'm sorry, we're all glad you're back. I'm a little busy right now, but we can talk later, okay?"

"Yes, she is very busy." Lulu was next to her. "She doesn't have time to deal with you right now."

"Wha- huh?" Tidus was suddenly very cold. The world became darker. "Oh no. Not another dream."

"Hey, you're the dream, remember?" Rikku tapped his shoulder. He turned, but Auron was there instead, casually leaning against nothing. 

"She's right, you shouldn't be here. This isn't your story." 

The waves became choppy.

"Huh? Would you stop with the story thing?! Why does it have to be a story?

The ocean bled into the sky.

Wakka spoke behind him. "Hey, you ok?" Waves crashed in response.

"Why can't we just live!? Why does it even matter? Just… just shut up!"

"Fine."

Tidus was suddenly alone again. The ocean was calm and the sky was clear. He looked behind him, but Yuna was gone too. There was nobody left but his reflection in the water. He looked down at it, wondering what side he was on.

__

--- 

Now what? Yuna thought as she went to receive her guest. There was only a handful of people that she'd be willing to talk to at the moment and the fact that most of them were either dead or imaginary decreased her chances even more. So, preparing herself for a potentially painful and tediously diplomatic experience, she made her way to the guestroom. 

Why wasn't life this hard as a summoner? 

__

Maybe because everyone knows those summoners have a task to complete. It must look like Maesters just sit around all day. That's actually not too far from the truth… Casting her eyes to the polished floor, she saw a depressed reflection_. _

Spira's ray of light isn't looking very cheery this afternoon. She thought.

Shrugging back her exhaustion and planting a smile on her face, Yuna vainly tired to retain her sweet and carefree image. _Why do I care so much?_

She was halfway to the door before a scream pierced the air, followed by the sound of talons scratching on marble. She turned just in time to see a chocobo burst into the room in a storm of yellow feathers. Several meters behind it was the coeurl, running at top speed. 

The bird scrabbled its way across the room, jumped the railing of the main stairs and ran/flew up to the second story, screeching all the way. Coming to a stop at the bottom step, the coeurl quickly altered its course and charged up after it. A second later and they were gone.

Stunned, Yuna watched as the chocobo feathers settled to the floor. 

"Oh my." Deep claw marks scarred the polish. _Lulu's going to have a fit._

---

Kimahri cleaned the blade of his halberd with an old rag. A countless number of knives, spears, and other menacing weapons hung from the open closet before him. He knew every blade by weight, reach, and effectiveness, and could wield any of them with unmatched expertise. Although he would never admit it, Kimahri was very proud of his abilities and he spent more and more of his time polishing his arsenal. There wasn't anything else to do anyway, besides guarding Yuna of course. 

He spun the spear in a wide arch, feeling its familiar weight. Out of all his weapons, the spear had to be Kimahri's favorite.

Part of him that missed the old adventure. Back when there was always a new challenge, a new threat. The summoner traveled on her quest, and the guardians protected her with all their strength. It was the perfect place for Kimahri.

Now there wasn't anything to do but help around the mansion. He found himself spending most of the time in the training room, cleaning weapons and practicing stances. 

Kimahri growled at himself. Maybe being the Grand Maester's armed guard wasn't as thrilling as being a guardian, but he had to remember that it was all about Yuna's safety. That thought made him even angrier. When was it ever an issue? Her safety had always been his focus, how could he so easily forget it? 

It had to be the boredom. He needed something to happen; some way to prove himself.

__

But you did prove yourself. Kimahri touched the tip of his horn. The weathered bone was gone now, replaced with horn made of solid gold, and carved with ronso symbols. He had received it as a gift upon becoming a royal bodyguard, and he was still adjusting to its weight. It was a great trophy and a powerful symbol of his devotion, but that didn't help now. It couldn't replace the feeling of defending Yuna. The knowledge that, despite fiends and gods, she was always safe, that was enough for him. Or should be. 

He looked at the training room. By house standards, it was enormous, but it seemed so small to Kimahri. 

Most of the wall targets had to be changed, he noted. Each one had a hundred small holes pierced in the center. Well, somebody was improving.

A small blade flashed from his belt. It twirled around his massive fingers as he brought it to eye level. He closed his eyes, focusing all energy into the knife. There was a thud as the blade left his outstretched hand and appeared in the center of the target.

Nodding, he turned to put the spear back in the closet, just as a loud crash shook the floor. His hands automatically fell into ready position along its haft.

A chocobo smashed in through one door and smashed out through another, chased by a black and white striped coeurl. They were the two riding animals Yuna had received earlier. He relaxed his grip. They were gone in an instant, leaving a trail of feathers and splintered wood behind them. A door swung from one hinge. He put the spear away and closed the closet. Be careful what you wish for…

---

Yuna reached the kitchen out of breath. Distant crashes and shouts came from all over the house, and Lulu was nowhere to be found. She paused to get herself together. She was standing in the doorway, if you could call it that. The kitchen and the dinning room were basically the same, with a half-wall separating them. The kitchen then opened up directly to a balcony, with a beautiful view of Bevelle. 

It was actually a lovely day outside; the sky was blue and filled with long streaking clouds. From where she was standing Yuna could see a hundred white spires pointing towards the heavens. Why was she inside?

"Yumie!" Rikku said through a mouthful of sandwich. 

"Rikku!" She was just a little shocked to see the young Al bhed standing in her kitchen, eating an overstuffed Zuu sandwich.

Yuna was about to say something when the frantic chocobo blew past, almost knocking her over. She grabbed the wall to steady herself as Rikku, completely surprised, stared after the bird with disbelief. The kitchen is usually the last place you'd see a live chocobo, so Rikku spent the next several moments watching as it planned its great escape off the balcony.

She turned back to help Yuna, but saw something even more startling. 

"Get down!"

Yuna threw herself to the floor as the coeurl leaped, roaring, over the dividing wall. Like a reflex, Rikku grabbed a frying pan from the stove and swung it with all her strength. 

'CLAAAANG!'

The big cat blinked once before collapsing in a heap. 

"Down, kitty." She said, followed by a victorious 'Whoo hoo!' She flipped the frying pan into the air, caught it by the handle, and slapped the remains of her zuu sandwich in it. With that, she dropped the pan back on the stove and ran over to Yuna, who was shakily climbing to her feet. The two girls stood there for a second, looking at the snoring coeurl. Rikku whistled softly. 

"You need a vacation."

__

---

Ugh…Tidus breathed. He was lost between sleep and consciousness, in that place where dreams seem real and reality's only a memory. It was a magical time, when you're still trying to remember why you can't move your legs, or how you're life's been recently derailed. He knew something had happened, but didn't have a clue what it was. But it had to be something pretty important to wake up with 'Ugh'. After several moments his dream returned, followed by the earlier conversation. 

__

Hmm, let's see. Jecht is sin? Was sin. But we killed him, and then Yevon. Yuna did the sending. Auron's gone. Then there was the airship. Everybody was sad and there were those floating lights. Pyerflies. I jumped off. Jecht was there… and everything fell away. Then there's water. An ocean. I'm drowning. Figures. But then there's that ligh and… sounds, voices, talking about me. The dock… no wait, that's just another crazy dream. And now I'm here, in a stupid tent or something, waking up with a full body headache. Ugh.

Tidus opened his eyes just enough to peek at the world. It was lighter in the 'tent', and the crickets had been replaced by the sounds of people walking and talking. _Oh great._ Stuff was happening, and although every cell in his body resisted, it was time to get up. He grumbled at himself. 

__

Come on, it's not so bad. All you have to do is get up. And if that doesn't kill you, you can figure out what's going on. 

Gritting his teeth, he sat up. The pain in his neck was still there, but not as bad as before, and for the first time he could really see around him. Turned out it really was a tent, and actually a pretty big one as tents go. There were several other beds in the place, lined up into two rows. Nobody else was there except for Tidus, who was getting that 'slept-in-too-late' feeling. Exerting a little more strength, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stumbled onto his feet. He was a dizzy, but managed to take a few steps before he heard someone close by. 

"Well crap. Looks like you win. Again." There was a curtain at one end blocking off another room. Someone else chuckled. Tidus pushed it aside. There were two guys sitting at a long table. One of them was shuffling a deck of cards. 

"Oh, you're up." He said, seeing Tidus. 

"Uhh yea. I guess." There didn't seem to be much to say, and Tidus tried to think.

"You don't look so good. Can I get ya anything?" The man's accent was familiar. It had the same sound as Wakka's, he thought. Tidus considered the question and realized he was very thirsty.

"Could I get some water or something?"

"Ya sure." He looked to the other guy. "Be right back, Gatta." Then he left the tent and there was only Tidus and Gatta. 

"Why don't you take a seat? You look wasted…" He trailed off, looking very hard at Tidus's face. 

"What?" 

"Oh sorry. You just remind me of somebody." Tidus stared back at the guy. He had a dark complexion and his hair was tied back.

"Uh, you look… kinda familiar." There was another moment or two of starring before Gatta spoke.

"Tidus?" He smiled and extend his hand. Not knowing what to do, Tidus took it. "I'm Gatta. I was with the crusaders during the pilgrimage." _Oh yea. Crusaders._ Suddenly, Tidus realized where he was. 

"This is… Besaid, right?" Gatta nodded. He was grinning now.

"It is you! Man, everybody'll be so excited to hear! I can't wait to tell the rest of the guard-" His sudden enthusiasm was making Tidus a little nervous.

"Uh Gatta, no offence or anything but, why are you so excited? I mean it's only been, like-" 

"A year!" Gatta said with brimming satisfaction.

"A year?!" Tidus was suddenly thirstier. With his memories coming back, he suspected it might have been several days, maybe a week, since the battle with sin. _But a whole year!?!_

"Pretty crazy huh?" Gatta looked like he was ready to give Tidus a friendly punch in the arm. It felt like a friendly punch to the gut. Tidus just stood dumfounded, until the other guard walked in with a mug of water. He grabbed the mug, chugged half of it, then poured the other half over his head and flopped painfully onto a bench. The two guys were shocked.

"Thanks." He said with some relief.

"What's goin on?" The one with the cards asked. Gatta answered.

"It's Tidus! I told you it was him! We were just saying how surprised everybody's going to be when they hear he's back after a whole year! Hey, I wonder what Lady Yuna and the others'll say-"

"Uh, Gatta?" Tidus cut in. "Maybe it would be a better idea not to tell them. I mean, not until I get readjusted, okay? I don't want to make everything… complicated right away." Gatta's grin melted a little. 

"I guess… Can I still tell my friends though?"

"I'd actually prefer it if we could keep this like a secret. Can you promise you won't tell anyone?" Gatta was obviously disappointed, but he agreed. Tidus got the other guy to promise too, although he wasn't sure how long they'd stay quiet. 

He got up and walked to the door, which was really just a flap of fabric. It wasn't closed all the way, and some light from outside shone across the floor. 

"Where are you going?"

"I think I'm gonna… take a walk. I have to sort some things out." He pulled the cloth back and stepped out into the Besaid afternoon.

__

-Hey I'd like to thank everbody's who still with me! Sorry this chapter's kinda uneventful, but chapter 5's up next and things are gonna get… interesting ^_^ 

So check back tomarrow for the next exciting episode…


	5. Lost

Lost

Rikku hummed along as she shuffled through papers. A pair of stylized headphones hung around her neck, with the volume cranked up so high that music radiated to every corner of the room. 

Yuna's bedroom was pretty boring, Rikku thought. It was draped in curtains and wall hangings, all colored with faded blues and purples. There was a large bed by one wall with way too many pillows, and by the other wall was some drawers and a writing desk heaped with papers, which she was currently rifling through. There had to be _something_ interesting in there.

Sharp chords of machina instruments vibrated from the speakers. They climbed higher and higher, before crashing back to its heavy refrain. Rushing water could be heard just above it.

__

Plenty of time. Now let's see. She grabbed a stack of papers. Letter. Letter. Speech. Letter. List. Picture of Tidus. 

"Hey, that's pretty good." The drawing was a little sketchy, but it was definitely him. She flipped to the next sheet. More pictures of Tidus, posing with his sword. _Ha, Yuna's got talent…_ Proceeding through the pile, were some sketches of Kimahri and Auron, and even herself, along with landscapes of places they'd been during their adventure. They brought back plenty of memories. Coming across sketch of the Thunder Plains made her gulped involuntarily. _Not all of them pleasant memories, though._

She flipped through the rest of them, stopping when a splash of color caught her eye. She pulled the picture out from the stack. There was Tidus again, holding a girl with medium-length brown hair. Though her face was hidden, Rikku had an idea who it was. Behind the couple was an Aeon, Valefor, with its wings spread around them protectively. A beautiful sunset stretched across the sky. The whole thing was very touching, but somehow... sad. She looked over it again and noticed the airship's hull. 

"Oh Yunie…" She whispered.

"Yes?" Startled, Rikku dropped the pictures. She quickly noticed the absence of running water, and presence of Yuna standing next to the door in a bathrobe. 

"Oh, hey!" Rikku turned the volume down on her sphere player and tried to casually shuffle the pictures back into the pile. Not casually enough, though.

"What are you looking at?" The pictures got heavy in Rikku's guilty hands.

"Well I was kinda bored, so I thought I'd just take a peak… sorry."

"No it's okay. This is a very boring place. It's just that the pictures aren't very good I'm afraid."

"Same old Yuna." Rikku shook her head, giggling. "You're way to hard on yourself, yaknow?" 

"Of course." Yuna smiled at her. Rikku could always make things seem better. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well, it's been a while since we've seen each other, so I figured 'why not?' Besides, I need a break. Working as _Lead Engineer_ is a pretty tiring job." Rikku said 'Engineer' with a hint of pride. 

"Wow. Good for you! An engineer, huh…?"

"_Lead_ Engineer." Rikku added.

"Oh, my apologies. '_Lead_ Engineer'" 

"Yep, sometimes I even amaze myself." Rikku said, examining her lime-green fingernails. "By the way, how's the 'ruling the world' business goin?" Yuna walked to the desk and picked up the stack of pictures. She flipped through some pages.

"I'd… rather not talk about it." 

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad." She went to sit on the edge of the desk and saw that Yuna was looking at the airship picture. "Oh I see. You're sad because it's over, right? … And you probably miss him a lot too." 

"… Maybe." Yuna dropped the pictures back on the table. "But I can handle that. I know it's over, it's just, I didn't want it to end this way."

"But there's nothing that you can do about that." Rikku tried to sound optimistic. "So, you shouldn't stress over it."

Yuna didn't look up from the desk. "You're right. There's nothing I can do. That's why I'm just so… I don't know."

"Angry?" Rikku tried to picture it. 

"Yuna angry. Hard to imagine that…" She was about to laugh, but Yuna's expression told her it wasn't the best time. She looked lost and frustrated, staring at that picture. It wasn't like her at all.

"Oh Yunie. I'm sorry." Rikku felt a little uncomfortable. She turned to glance around the room, although she wasn't really looking at anything. "I know this place probably feels kinda… empty right now. Endings are usually like that, even happy ones. But there's other stuff out there, yaknow?" Rikku smiled as the words came to her. "There's always another adventure, but to find it you have to let go of the past." She turned back to Yuna, who seemed to be thinking that over. 

"I guess, you're right." She said.

"Oh wait! I got it." Rikku pulled the headset from around her neck and gave it to Yuna. "Listen to this."

As Yuna placed the speakers on her ears, Rikku turned up the volume on her player. At first, Yuna looked a little skeptical, but after several seconds she began to smile. Rikku grinned, playing through the song in her head. They got to the second chorus before Yuna spoke, loud enough to hear herself.

"What is this?" She carefully lifted the headphones off. "It's… interesting"

"Forbidden Machina." Yuna looked to the player, confused.

"No, I mean the music." She was even more confused when Rikku shook her head, laughing. 

"Yes. Forbidden Machina. That's the name of the band." She raised a fist and shouted "Forbidden Machina Rules!"

"Oh" Yuna laughed, feeling embarrassed. "Well they certainly do… rule." That started them both laughing. 

Yuna handed the headphones back. "Thank you."

"No problem." Rikku said. "Just spreading the joys of heresy. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be getting ready for that presentation thingy?"

"Oh, right!" Yuna rushed to the changing room and closed the door behind her. Rikku shuffled through more papers on the desk, but didn't find anything else worth looking at. Boredom crept up on her again, so she went to the door of the dressing room. 

"So what is this thing all about anyway?" 

Yuna shouted back through the door. "Well, it's a speech to commemorate the new Maesters for their contributions since the calm. Like… a big thank-you letter."

"Oh ok." _How fascinating._ "This may sound like a sorta dumb question, but what's the point of that? I mean, couldn't you just write to them?" There was a rustling of clothes from the other side, and then Yuna answered.

"Well, it's complicated. Since the calm, most people have started losing their faith. The council's goal it to give people something to believe in, so that everyone can be united. And Spira can grow."

"Well that's nice, but I still don't get why you have to give this speech. I mean, it's almost the calm anniversary, you should be out partying or something."

"Hmm. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" The door opened and Yuna walked out, fussing with her damp hair. "I have to do this because it's my life. I don't like it at all, but it is the only thing I have left." She flattened out her dress and brushed her hair back. "How do I look?"

"You're bow's a little crooked."

"Goodness." Yuna muttered, reaching behind her.

"Here, I'll get it." Rikku sighed, realizing this was probably the fourth time in her life she'd done this. _She's got to start thinking about a new wardrobe._

"Anyway, Lulu said that the maesters are breaking apart."

"Really?"

"Well, they each have different dreams for Spira's future, but so far they seem to be very understanding of one another. I think this speech is supposed to try and keep everything together."

"How does it go?" Rikku asked. The bow was beyond adjusting, so she started tying it over.

"We'll find out, it starts in about an hour."

"Huh? Don't you have it written down somewhere?"

There was a pause.

"Well, yes. I, just didn't have the time to finish it, so Lulu was kind enough to write the rest."

"But you still haven't read it yet?"

"Mmm, not really. But I'm alright at these things, I can pick it up as I go along."

"Oh well THAT'S a relief." Yuna picked up on the heavy sarcasm.

"Hey! I can do it!"

"Of course you can. I never doubted you… what's this?" As Rikku finished the bow, which was perfect, her hand brushed something sticking out from under Yuna's sash. She looked and saw a small black pouch hiding just beneath the massive bow. It was made out of silk and held in place by a black cord tied around her waist, underneath the sash. 

"Wha-? Oh Rikku! Wait-" The pouch was open on the sides, so Rikku decided to check what Yuna was hiding. Her fingers touched cold metal.

"Ouch!" She yelled, grabbing her hand. She hadn't pressed hard enough to cut herself, but there was now a small puncture in her skin. 

"Are you ok?" Yuna said with apologetic concern.

"Yea, I'm fine. What was that?" Yuna didn't answer, but reached back to ensure the pouch was hidden. Satisfied, she headed out of the room.

"Come on, we're going to be late." 

---

Tidus stood at the edge of the dock, looking out at the water. The sunlight sparkled on its surface like a field of diamonds. He shook his head. _This can't be real._

He'd said that at least twenty times now, but it didn't fit. Everything he remembered and everything his head was telling him made perfect sense, it just didn't feel right. There were still so many questions that he couldn't answer.

__

Well why can't it be real? 

__

Why…? Because it's over. There's no reason for me to be here.

But you are. 

__

And? That doesn't exactly help anything. 

__

What is this then? If it's not real. 

__

What is this? Good question.

"WHAT IS THIS?" He shouted over the water, but his voice was eaten by the waves. A mist of sea-spray blew around him in response. 

__

Well that was inspiring, though not very helpful. Tidus kicked a small stone off the edge of the dock. It hit the water with a _plop._

The confusion finally got to him, and he dropped like the stone onto the dock. He sat there for a while, trying to forget. It would be so much easier to forget. He tried to block out all the buzzing questions and nagging thoughts, but memories still drifted with the breeze and every swell of water was déjà vu.

"Maybe it's just a dream." Tidus said, sitting on the edge. The water didn't have any opinion. It just broke against the dock the same way it always had. Birdcalls accompanied gentle waves. It was perfect. 

__

…Just a dream?

Splashing sounds interrupted his trance. Some kids were playing blitzball by the beach. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, laughing and juggling the ball. They waded out a little, and one of them grabbed it away. He checked to make sure nothing was too close before tossing the ball skyward. He tried to follow it with an unbalanced attempt at a sphere shot that left him landing in the water at an odd angle. His impact was shortly followed by a lighter splash as the blitzball hit. The other kids burst out laughing. 

__

Ha, he could use a little practice. Tidus thought to himself, smiling. His gaze fell to one hand resting on the weather-stained dock.

Actually, so could I. Flashes of Luca stadium moved through his head, and he wondered if the tournaments were still running. He thought about his game against the Goers in the previous season. He remembered the excitement, the crowd; it was the rush that came with blitzing. It was what he used to live for, back then…

__

Wait. I'm here, and I'm alive. It made sense._ Why not live it?_ Yeah! Not _that_ much could have changed in a year. He just hoped the teams hadn't gotten too soft while he was gone. 

He started to get up with his newfound inspiration, but was weighed down again.

What about the pilgrimage? The airship? Yuna? After all the lost seconds and all the things that had happened, was it really the time for blitzball? 

__

…It's the only time. A voice came to him from the edge of his mind. 

__

Finally, a helpful flashback.

"Right on, Wakka." He said, climbing to his feet. He was thinking too much. _Who cares if it is a dream? I might as well enjoy myself_. 

Later on he'd talk with Gatta and get some answers, then move on from there. But the first thing he had to do was go over and teach those guys how to blitz. 

For the first time since waking up, Tidus felt better about things. It was good to have a goal, he realized.

Stretching a little as he said goodbye to the sunset, Tidus turned and took off down the dock, promptly crashing into an innocent bystander. The cloaked figure tumbled to the ground 

"Whoa! Ha, uh sorry bout that." He said, bending to help them up. The person's face was concealed by the hood of a plain white robe with bright red designs around the sleeves. Something nagged at him as he lent a hand, but he couldn't place it. One more unsolved mental mystery.

The person didn't say anything, but reached out a slim hand. Tidus helped them up without much trouble, immediately noticing it was a girl. She had pale skin and weighed almost nothing. 

They were almost eye-level with each other standing up, and very close, he realized. Close enough that when she looked up at him he could see her face beneath the hood. His heart stopped. 

She seemed young, with fair skin and shoulder length brown hair tied in braids. She could have been Tidus's age, maybe younger. But he choked when he saw her eyes looking at him. One emerald, and one sapphire.

The girl quickly broke away from Tidus's grip and ran, pulling her hood back down. He was shocked for a second or two, tripping over his thoughts again. His heart promptly told his head to shut up, and he ran.

__

I really like interesting cliffhangers, and I do think it's about time this story had one ^_^ 


	6. Ghosts

Ghosts

The setting sun was perfectly framed in Bevelle temple. The building had been built like a grand coliseum, with walls of smooth white stone. It was circular in shape and open-topped, so as to let the sunset wash over its fluid architecture. A single platform stood in the center, surrounded by rows and rows of seats, most of which were occupied. Everyone's attention was focused on the young girl at the podium. 

She was small compared to the crowds, but her voice carried across the temple. Everyone listened, because everyone knew and trusted her. She was their deliverer and their ray of hope, and they followed her without any idea how much she wanted to leave them behind. 

But Yuna was still there, standing where she had stood for almost a year. The people loved her at the podium. She was the symbol of Spira's destiny, speaking to them all, her face painted in the last light of a dying sun. She was majestic and they loved her because of it.

Although from that distance, no one could see the tears in her eyes.

---

Tidus drew several ragged breaths before starting off again. 

It was almost night in the valley, beneath a canopy of trees and cliffs. The chorus of crickets had started again, now mingling with the distant crash of waterfalls. Dew settled over lush foliage and lightning-bugs left glowing trails in the darkness. The jungle breathed life with slow and purposeful rhythm, only broken by Tidus's footsteps.

He ran faster and harder than he ever had. Or at least it felt that way, considering the screaming pain in his muscles. His skin was on fire and his chest heaved. Every hundred feet or so he had to rest, despite the merciful cool of the evening. He couldn't breath, but he couldn't stop. 

Tidus slowed as he came to a bridge under one of the falls. The mist felt good. He closed his eyes and inhaled. Her face was still there, burned into his retina. It was familiar, but it wasn't Yuna. The face was a little slimmer, sharper, with narrower eyes. There was something else too.

__

No time.

Tidus shook his head clear as he turned back to the path. He half expected her to be gone, but looking down the dirt trail he could still see the white robe winking at him, like a dancing ghost.

--- 

"So we tied our faith to religion, in hopes that something larger would protect us." Yuna spoke above a thousand people of all races and backgrounds. The other Maesters were listening also, in their separate skyboxes. Her voice echoed from the walls and reverberated throughout the stands, reaching every person, while still holding its gentle tone. 

"And under that religion, we managed to survive through pain and suffering for a hundred years. Spira was a spiral of death, but our beliefs never faltered." She felt one warm tear roll down her cheek and hoped no one noticed. After a year of public speeches, stage fright still gnawed away at her. All she could do was hide it, like everything else. 

"We were loyal to the belief that something could save us, and we gave so much for it. But it finally ended, like a bad dream. Everything we believed was false, and, although we were free, that betrayal ripped through Spira. For the first time, people could be true to themselves, without the fear. And we realized that… it wasn't our religion that kept us alive during the time of Sin… it was our faith."

Yuna could feel the crowd's emotion. It thickened in the air, to the point where you could taste it. The mood changed like tide, growing and changing by her words. The spirit of the people raised in the temple like the sun. It lifted her up.

"And we learned that the true praise belonged to the heroes and the people. To us."

"The people of Spira will never again fall to the age of Sin, as long as… we remember our faith." Now the people did clap.

The quiet temple became an ocean of sound. Rikku stood from her box seat and cheered so hard that other people started giving her strange looks. The almost-completely-set sun glared in her eyes, so she could just make out the silhouette of Yuna and Kimahri, standing several meters behind her. Rikku had to applaud; the girl had pulled the whole thing off perfectly. _Guess she really could do it without the speech,_ Rikku thought to herself. 

As the clapping settled down, Yuna spoke again.

"Before I go, I would like to thank the Masters of Spira. We are all grateful to you for keeping Spira alive. And I would like to thank you again for keeping its dream alive. I hope…"

There was a pause.

"I hope…"

Five seconds passed like three hours.

Everybody in the audience hung on her sentence. Rikku had to do something.

__

Uh-oh. Not good. She thought, climbing from her seat. She scouted for the quickest path to the stage. Not the time for subtleties.

Annoyed grunts issued from watchers as the girl hopped from armrests and over the backs of seats. She vainly whispered "sorry" and "'scues me" many times as she scurried over the crowd. _Guess it's up to Rikku to save the day again._

The hive-mood of the audience became noticeably uncomfortable while the Grand Maestress of Spira was at a loss for words. It was like the planet's revolution had been paused. The feeling grew for what seemed like an eternity, before a young girl climbed on the stage with her. The Ronso bodyguard moved a little closer, but wasn't panicked, although it was hard to see in the sunlight. 

The stranger whispered something to Yuna, then turned to the audience. 

"People of Spira!" a high energetic voice called out. "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but a situation has arose that requires the Maestress's immediate attention. We hope you have enjoyed the speech, and to finish off, we present the amazing, Kimahri!" Then the two girls disappeared from the stage, leaving behind a startled and confused Ronso.

--- 

Yuna stumbled out after Rikku as the girl rushed through vacant temple arches. 

"Hurry up! The news crews'll be here any minute!" Rikku stopped and waited for her to catch up. 

"Rikku, where are we going? What's the emergency?" 

"What? Oh, yeah. It's not a real emergency; I was just saving you from a universe of humiliation. Now come on!"

"Wait!" Yuna grabbed Rikku's arm. "We just left Kimahri up there." 

"Don't worry about him. He can take care of himself. Besides… are you ok?"

Yuna wiped the tears off her face and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

Rikku sighed. "We've got to get you out of here." They left the temple. Standing outside there was a large metallic beast. 

The machine was beautifully sculpted, like some kind of mythical creature from an ancient sea. It had a white, stainless body that darkened to ebony-black at the tips of its wings and along its streamlines. The front of the vehicle was curved like a beak, and at its back was a fan-shaped structure adorned with light pink numerals. Rikku walked up to it, touching a symbol on the hull that appeared to be a stenciled rose. The hull split and opened with a smooth hydraulic noise. 

"What is it?" Yuna asked, although she had some idea seeing the disk at its end. 

"An airship." Rikku tried to answer casually. "Pops got it for me. Pretty cool, huh?" She climbed into the front seat. "Well what are you waiting for? Get in!"

Yuna still seemed doubtful. "Where are we going?"

"How about as far away from here as possible?"

Footsteps from the temple's exit caught her attention. Some of the people had hand-held sphere recorders. 

"Sounds good." She said, and climbed in behind Rikku. The mini-airship lifted off the ground and took off.

---

The world was ink when they neared the Besaid fires. Tidus could hardly see the ground in front of him, with nothing but stars and fireflies to light his way. He moved slower down the path to Besaid, partially from exhaustion and partially to avoid tripping over anything. He was going slower, but wasn't ready to stop.

He could still see her outline the blackness, like an after-image behind his eyelids. She was just a shadow against an ocean of shadows. Tidus wondered, between breaths, if she was even real. 

She danced down the path into Besaid, surrounded in a halo of lighting-bugs. Tidus followed her. 

A minute later he was standing at the village's entrance. It had changed while he was gone, but not a lot. There were more houses now, and the main road branched off into two new avenues. There were still bonfires in the streets, with people gathered around them. They were talking, young and old, telling stories and looking at the sky. 

The air smelled from the burning wood, and there was a soft crackling from the fire. Tidus walked by a young boy with a blitzball in his arms, and followed the child's upward gaze. Above it all were the stars, shining more brilliantly then they ever had in Zanarkand.

He came to a stop, drawing a deep breath.

Out of all his memories, real or imaginary, this was his favorite. He remembered the people around the fire, how their faces flickered as they spoke to the new summoner. Wakka stood to the side, talking strategy with his team, but Tidus wasn't paying attention. He was watching the girl with the eyes as she smiled warmly. Tidus remembered her face, as she looked over at him from across the fire.

"Tidus"

His mind stumbled back to reality at the mentioning of his name. 

"- Leapt, with his fellow guardians, landing on the procession steps…" It was an old man, with a bushy white beard and small round spectacles. He spoke at a nearby fire to an attentive audience. "They were surrounded by a thousand guards, all serving the evil Maester Seymour, tool of Yevon." 

Tidus stepped closer, careful to stay hidden in the dark. 

"The airship flew away overhead and a hive of guards rushed them, guns at the ready. But our heroes remained determined. Drawing their sacred weapons, the guardians fought through the ocean of Seymor's men."

__

Not exactly the smartest thing I've ever done. Tidus thought to himself, edging nearer to the firelight. 

"They plowed down the multitude of opponents, who blindly threw themselves into the path under Yevon's influence. But it was only a matter of time before the group reached the altar, where Seymour held our fair lady Yuna as a hostage, to be married against her will.

The preacher neared the end of the dark ceremony as her lady's guardians neared. They were still fighting viciously, with the blood of many glistening on their weapons, but it was not enough. The preacher closed his book and the lord Seymour turned to seal the ritual with a desecrating kiss…" The man left his words hanging in the air, waiting for the imagery to sink in. 

"But he was stopped by a blade pressed against his neck. Tidus stood at the top of the altar, with the tip of his sword held to Seymor's throat. He met the evil Maester's indifferent expression with a confident smile. The fighting below stopped and all looked towards the two of them. 

Seymour, releasing Yuna from his grip, slowly removed his ceremonial robes, revealing his own sword, which was wickedly curved and stained black with hatred. The two studied each other a moment, poised for perhaps the final battle of good and evil… 

Then Seymour lunged, brimming with hate, and their swords crashed like thunder."

Tidus's eyes burned as he stared into the fire from just outside the circle. He played out the scene in his head. It was impressive. 

__

Don't remember it exactly like that, he thought, _But I think I like this version better…_ He fought back a laugh, imagining Seymour trying to hold up a sword, wearing that stupid wedding hat. 

__

"Wanna scream?"

Tidus almost jumped. He spun around, but nobody was there except the few startled kids at the fire. _What was that?_

"-Everybody's picking on me!" 

"Wha-?" Tidus whirled to the darkness on his right.

__

"haha… That's not very nice!"

The voices materialized from the air around him, echoing through his head.

__

"Wouldn't everyone be surprised?"

"I'm so sorry,"

"Believe…"

"Stop!" Tidus turned on the shadows that stretched from the fire, covering his ears. It didn't help.

__

"Stay with me… until the end"

"Hey, are you okay mister?" one of the kids asked. Tidus took his hands away from his ears and straightened up. The temple stood before him, exactly how he remembered it. Two guards loitered at the entrance, and between them Tidus just make out the swaying robe as it disappeared into the temple. He didn't think, just ran. 

Taking the steps three at a time, he barreled past the guards who moved to block his way. They fell back easily, and he kept moving. 

"What the hell is he doin?!"

"Hey you don't wanna go in there buddy!" The guard shouted after him, but he didn't listen and they didn't follow.

__

Hey, I missed this post yesterday, sorry. I spent the first half of the night playing guilty gear and the second half playing catch-up -_-;

Anyway, thanks for reading, I've got 1 or 2 more chapters before I'm back where I was, so won't be updating every day at that point, maybe once or twice a week.

We'll see ^_^


	7. Runaway

Runaway

There was a cutting shreik of metal and an exploasion of sand, and the _Nuca_ landed. With a small hiss of steam the landing gear unfolded and the disc slowed to a stop. The nose of the craft was buried in a sand dune. Little rivers of sand spilled off the ship as it opened and Rikku hopped out.

"Whoo hooo! Landing sucsessful!" She said, pulling her gloves off and tossing them into the cockpit. Then she took a second to dust her denam skirt and check over the toolbelt. Yuna stumbled out of the ship behind her, with one hand on the vehicle to keep her balance. 

"That was… exciting." Yuna managed to say between breaths. 

"Yep. My best landing so far!" Rikku answered with pride. She pressed the rose symbol and the ship locked shut. Then she helped Yuna stand up.

"Don't worry about it, you're just not used to flying." Yuna's dizzyness subsided, and she looked around.

"Where are we?" She asked. Rikku smirked.

"The one place in the world where even someone like _you_ can have fun." She pointed over Yuna's shoulder to a towering city, with buildings that streached into the sky. The whole place glowed with electrisity against the night. 

"Welcome to New Bikanel." The al bhed brimmed with pride at Yuna's amazed look. She allowed her several moments to gaze in awe.

"Ok that's enough. Come on." They started towards the neon-laced gates.

---

Enter Bikanel city. Everywhere there was light, noise, and action. Yuna's senses were overwhelmed. Electric signs climed up the sides of every building and hovered in the air overhead. People crowded the streets on bikes, floating boards, and mechanical walkers. Music spilled into the traffic from every storefront. 

Yuna was pulled along by Rikku like a reluctant child as the two girls passed arcades, weapon shops, alchemical import stores, tatoo parlors, and a thousand other unique sights on the avenue. 

"Rikku, slow down!" Yuna said, trying to avoid crashing into people as she was dragged through the crowd. 

"Rikku!" She collided with a boy who was talking with someone next to him. He had spikey brown hair and a red-and-orange jumpsuit. They both almost fell over.

"Hey!" he yelled, turing on her.

"Oh sorry! I'm so sorry-" She was cut off with another yank from Rikku. As Yuna was pulled along she could just see the dawning recognition on the boy's face.

Rikku came to a sudden stop in front of an elevator. 

"What are you doing? Where are we?" Yuna panted, out of breath. The al bhed pointed up. A sign was written in shining letters across the building.

"Spira's Fashions." 

"Huh?" Yuna met her with a lost expression.

"Well we can't have you walking around dressed like _that._ Look at you!" Yuna looked down at her purple dress. 

"You can't cruse the city as a High Maestress! Come on, Yunie. You're gonna love this." Before she could say anything, Rikku pulled her onto the open-topped elevator and pushed several buttons. The platform made a hissing noise before moving up and away from the street.

People and noise quickly fell away, and Yuna was caught off gaurd by the acceleration. The aveneu traffic was soon nothing more than a milling line of ants below them. Air popped in her ears and she gripped the railing with sweaty palms, squeesing her eyes closed. She caught the fleeting air in her throat and prayed -out of habbit- for the platform to stop. The asent may have been only thirty seconds, although it felt much longer. 

But eventually the platform slowed. When it was at a crawling pace Yuna opened her eyes a bit.

There was nothing left around her except for a starlit canopy of towers. Her eyes opened a little wider as she looked around. It was quiet up there, and darker. A cool wind swept around the spires. Elevator tracks ran up the sides of every building, glowing with mossy green lights. Daring a glance over the side she saw not one, but many levels of streets and roads, all weaving over and under one another in an industrial maze of traffic, a thousand feet below. 

Rikku stood against the outer rail with a satisfied smile on her face. 

"Pretty cool huh?" She leaned out over the edge and shouted. 

"Whoooooooooooooooooooo Hoooooooooooooooooooooo!" Her voice echoed off the heightless monoliths.

"This is… amazing." Yuna moved to stand next to her. "They built all this in one year?" 

"Yep!" Rikku said. "With the support of a whole nation, and a little inspiriation…" She gestured towards Yuna. 

"Not to mention a supercool Lead engineer…" She gestured ellegantly towards herself, "Wonderful things can happen."

"Ha, I guess so." She stared back down at the headlights of vehicals way below them. They moved silent through their artificial day. She wondered if they could see the stars from down there.

DING

"This is us. Let's go." The platform stopped and a door opened into the building. The girls stepped back into the bright influence of florecent lights. 

"Wow" Yuna whispered as saw the store. Three levels, each covered in fields of clothing racks. The whole place was maybe half the size of a blitz stadium, or at lest the part that she could see. And there were people everywhere, mostly girls but some guys too. There weren't just al bhed either. 

"Ok Yunie," Rikku was glancing around the store as if she was devising an escape plan. "Stick close to me and stay low." 

"Ok." She nodded. "Um, Rikku?"

"Yes?"

"Why are we whispering?" 

"Because you're not here as a leader of the world. And we want to get through this with as little publicity as possible."

"Mm" She nodded again. "Got it."

"Ok, let's move." Rikku said, then started off in a crouched run to the nearest tree of brightly colored shirts.

---

The temple was more like a neglected tomb. Sand and dirt had built up on the floors. All the summoner statues had been moved out, making the hall seem much larger than it had been. Huge spider webs hung heavy over the pews and draped from the ceiling. Rough graffitti was carved into the cloyster steps. 

__

What happened…? The only illumination in the place was moonlight that shone through a large hole in the temple roof. 

__

I guess things have changed.

Tidus moved to the defiled stairs. The girl was in the cloyster of trials, he knew without any doubt. 

A chill ran up his back as he took the first step. There was a presence in the temple, it was like a solem and respectful silence, as if the services were still taking place. Another memory boiled to the surface in his head, of running up the steps, heroically saving the summoner in distress. 'Stupidly' would also fit there. It was one of those things that seemed to be a good idea at the time.

There were more important things to do at the moment, though, besides embarassing himself, so Tidus bit down on his toung and took the next step.

It was darker than he rememberd, in the cloyster. The turquois light that seemed to come from the walls had dimmed from his memory, and it managed to make the place even creepier. Although there was no graffittie or anything in the stone hall, the cloyster felt so much deader. And colder. Much colder.

Tidus realized his hands were shaking. He was numb from inside out, and a dull sense of nausia welled up in him. The hall didn't want him there. 

He pressed down on the pain in his stomach and took a slow breath. 

Too bad. He walked down the smooth stone corridor, with lights fluttering behind the walls. His legs felt unsteady, although the floor hadn't changed. He took another deep breath and picked up the pace. 

The walls moved faster, lights rippiling. They were like the ripples at the bottom of a sphere pool, he thought. 

__

Keep going. The lights were dizzying but he moved his legs faster. The hall shifted, twisting like some carnival funhouse. 

__

Keep going. His heart raced and he wondered why. He stumbled once or twice, but didn't slow. The room kept turning, the patterns on the walls were beating in time with his pulse. 

Then he tripped, falling towards the ceiling and landing on the floor. Painfully lifting himself up, Tidus found he was face to face with another wall. It was a dead end. He stood up, still dizzy. The place had stopped spinning. 

__

Now what? He asked himself. Another breif memory came back to him. 

Holding one hand up to the stone, he studied the grain for some sign. Sure enough, a greenish emblem bled to the surface and hovered above it. It was somewhat deformed, streaching out in a weird uneaven design, but it was at one point the symbol he'd touched a year ago. 

Okay. His eyes found the next clue, a thin crystal vein touching the corner of the glyph wall. It led back down the corridor to a round hollow. The sphere wasn't there, but as he got close he noticed a fine blue sand in it, and more spilled onto the floor.

__

Perfect. He didn't have any other ideas, so Tidus grabbed a handful of the sand and pushed it into the hole. 

Then there was an explosion. The sand flew out in a firey cloud, ignigting in air and sizzleing away. Tidus threw his arm over his face to escape the blast. When he looked again there were scorch marks in a circular pattern on the wall. 

"Well that worked." He said to himself, dropping his arm in defeat. Just then a grinding sound came from the glyph wall. It was slowly pulled upward by unseen mechanics, leaving little spurts of dust behind it.

Tidus sighed with gratitued and began walking to the door. The door, almost on cue, stopped in it's tracks, then began closing again. Tidus, caught a little by surprise, swore under his breath and sprinted the remaing feet. The door closed a lot faster than it opened and he had to dive three feet in front of it, bearly clearing the stone in an off-balance roll. It closed with a decisive _'chink.'_

---

Rikku did a quick glance over the racks before grabbing several sleevless shirts and dashing across an open isle to the next display. Yuna followed a moment later with a large pile of mismatched clothes in her arms, stopping halfway to recover a lost sock. 

"Umm, Rikku?" Yuna asked, rebalanceing the load in her arms. 

"Ya?" 

"I didn't bring any money with me, how are we going to pay for all this?" Rikku examined a pair of shorts then threw them on Yuna's pile. She was waiting for an answer when something nudged against her leg. A small robot with four legs and a single lense on its head beeped and asked her what dress size she was. It startled her at first, but the robot was cute and funny-looking.

"Hey, one of these little guys," Rikku grinned. "Come'er ya cute little bot." The robot waddled stifly over to Rikku, who proceded to flip open a small pannel on it back. After a bit of tooling around with the wires, she closed it back up and patted it's head.

"There. Be free bot." It beeped and waddled double time out of the row. 

"…Rikku?"

"Heeyy, don't worry so much, Yunie. Just leave it to me, okay?"

"Oh no!" Yuna checked over her shoulder and lowered her voice "We can't steal!"

"Calm down. We're only going to take what we ne-"

"Excuse me, can I help you two?" asked a woman with purple hair and a dress that looked to made of yellow celephane. She had a large smile, which Yuna could tell was fake. 

Thinking on her feet, Rikku shoved her pile of clothes on Yuna's, blocking her face from view. She turned to greet the store lady. 

"Ummm, nope, we're fine thanks." The cleark looked at Yuna, who was struggling to keep things from sliding off the pile. 

"You know," she said, "Some of those pieces are quite a lot of money." 

"Really?" Said Rikku, trying to sound curious. "Well my friend and I were just looking around, we're gonna try a couple on then pick."

"That's nice but I'm afraid that you can only take a few outfits in a room at a time, so you should put some of those back and try them later." She sounded a little annoyed, but the plastic smile didn't waver.

"Well," said Rikku as sweetly as possible, "We'll be sure to put them all back as soon as we're done."

"I'm sorry, but it's store policy. Here, I'll help you." The cleark reached for the top of Yuna's pile.

"Wait no!" Rikku burst. Then she quickly tried to cover. "Can I, um, see your manager?"

It looked like the lady's face might crack. "Miss, if you want-" She was interupted by a crash that came from somewhere in the store. Sombody sqeeled and a small service bot waddled into the center isle with a pair of girl's underwear drapped over it's lens. The cleark gasped and swore in al bhed, running to the comotion. Rikku smiled and grabbed Yuna, running to the dressing room.

"What's happening?" Yuna asked, peaking around the clothes.

"Nothing." Rikku said, "Let's go, this is the fun part."

---

Kimarhi watched the sky from the balcony off Yuna's bedroom. He was angry and scared, Lulu knew. There he was, a seven foot lion, arms crossed like an ancient gargoyle, but even he was scared. He always blamed himself for everything that happened to the girl.

Kimahri probably heard her when she joined him on the balcony, but didn't move. 

"It is a cool night" Lulu said. "Much cooler than besaid." She didn't expect him to reply, so it came as a surprise when he did.

"Kimahri let her go" 

"There was nothing you could do." Even when she spoke casually there was intensity in her voice. "I don't really blame her, she's committed to a lot recently." He was unmoved.

Lulu sighed. It was disarming when she did that, like she was dropping an act. When she spoke again, though, it was the same as always. 

"She can handle herself for now"

__

Ha… this one's late too I guess ^^;; my excuse is I've been having a little trouble getting to my account lately, server's busy and all…

Ok I'm sorry! Alright? There, I said it!

Anyway, in case you didn't notice yet, a large part of this story is focusing on tidus and yuna seeing each other again, so you could say it's a tidus/yuna thing, but I promise it's still gonna be interesting…

I love the '…'s. I forget what you call em though

Whatever! Last thing: this is the final completed chapter I have right now, but 8 is well on its way, look for it over the course of the week

And thanks for reading! 


	8. Sleeper

Sleeper

Rikku tossed the ribbon into a corner, along with the purple dress. The monk boots stood nearby with the tops flopped down and the white lining showing. 

There was a dazed girl standing in front of a mirror. For someone who had worn ceremonial dresses for most of her life, change was a big thing. Yuna was still adjusting.  

Instead of her trusty boots, light purple shoes with rubber soles were staring up at her. They stopped below her ankles, leaving nothing but pale skin to halfway up her thigh. There started a pair of elastic shorts mostly covered by a one-piece sleeveless dress that was purple near the hem and faded into a light sky blue around her neck. The outfit was completed with a deep blue ribbon worn low around her waist and tied in a bow, smaller than her old one, with long loops that swayed behind her when she turned.

The whole thing was very form fitting; the dress had a long slit up one leg and, most shockingly of all, a small diamond-shaped cut in the midsection that neatly showed off her bellybutton. 

Rikku took a step back to size up her creation, whistling in approval. "Ha! That's so you, Yunie!" She said, trying not to laugh from the look on Yuna's face. It took the girl a moment to find her voice.

"… It's… it's certainly _some _one…" She said, examining the clothes as if any moment they'd grow teeth and bite her. Rikku stifled a giggle and Yuna shot her an accusing look that turned to an uncertain smile at the sight of the girl's peppy excitement.

"Haha… you just have'ta give it some time. Change is good, remember?"

"Yes, I guess you're right," she said, removing her hands from her bellybutton and placing them behind her back. "And now no one will recognize me."

"Well…" Rikku mused, tapping a finger on the side of her face. Yuna knew she must have been joking.

"Rikku, _I_ don't recognize me!" 

"I don't know. You look great, but the image needs something." Rikku said.

"… Layers?" Yuna offered. Rikku shook her head.

"Wait, that's it!" she snapped her fingers. Yuna was about to ask what before a pair of black goggles were pulled around her neck and pushed up to her forehead. Her brown hair tumbled back around her ears. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the new Yuna!"

"Hm… you think so?" Yuna said as she adjusted the goggles. The string of beads in her hair was caught under the strap, and she delicately lifted them out. 

"Oh yeah," Rikku noticed, "You should probably take those out."

"No, I can't" Yuna examined the lock of blue beads. "I've had them for a while, I don't want to lose them." Her voice became detached as she looked at them. 

"Alright then, here." Rikku separated the strand from the rest of Yuna's hair and let it fall straight beside her face. "That's probably good enough."

Then Rikku picked her own outfit. It was just about as revealing as Yuna's, with a skimpy yellow top, short skirt and jacket that she let slip down her shoulders.

"Excellent." She said.

"Now what?" Yuna asked, still a bit apprehensive about the plan.

"Now," Rikku answered with total confidence, "We hope the bot's still at large." She clipped her tool belt on and checked the door. Yuna followed suit, tying the sash with her black pouch around her waist. Rikku pulled a small gizmo with one red trigger out of her belt. She pushed it. 

At first, nothing happened. Rikku didn't looked worried, just grabbed the rest of their clothes. She held up three fingers.

"… Two… One…" Then there was a loud crash, followed by more yelling and a rapid series of beeps. Rikku bowed.

"Please, hold your applause." She said as she left the changing room, but the glory was short lived. About three feet in front of her there was a very familiar face.

"Ah, Rikku." He said.

"Rin!" She squeaked, genuinely startled. "What are you doing here?"

"You wanted to see the manager." He said with a wide grin.

"Wow. Who'd have guessed, huh?" Rikku's voice cracked a little.

"Yes, fate truly is strange. How are you Rikku? It has been a long time." Rin was an Al Bhedwith long blond hair and a heavy tan. Rikku had known him for a while, and he could always turn heads. It was probably what made him such a good salesman. 

"Yeah, since the calm. You've really got a nice place here."

"I decided to settle down." He said, "Business is becoming more centralized, so,"

"Good. We were just going to go check this stuff out."

"Ah yes. And who is your friend?" Yuna had just come out with the rest of the clothes. 

"Oh that's-" Rikku searched for a name, but Rin beat her to it.

"Yuna." His eyebrows raised. "It is a surprise seeing you here." She was just as surprised, and even more so when she saw his mellow reaction.

"That outfit is most becoming, my lady."

"It is very nice to see you again too, Rin." She answered courteously.

"Yep! Very nice. We'll keep in touch, but right now we really should be going…" Rikku stumbled over her words, slowly backing to the door. More beeps sounded and a shirt rack fell over. A tiny wisp of smoke rose to the ceiling. Rin didn't turn around, just looked at the two of them trying to hide their guilty faces. He chuckled. 

"You know, for you two, the clothes are on the house."

"What**, **really?" Rikku asked. She looked like an eager kid.

"But," Yuna said, "We should at least pay for the damages." Rikku cringed. It took a second for Yuna to realize, and she shut her mouth and looked at the floor. Rin almost chuckled again.

"Why would you? Malfunctions occur all the time." Rikku didn't say anything, just hugged him. He nodded, and they left. 

---

"Is everything okay sir?" A member of the high guard stood in the doorway. His robes were white beneath the silver armor he wore, the sign of an officer. He looked concerned.

"Oh, yes. Everything is fine."

"Are you sure?" the guard asked.

"Yes. Just more nightmares."

The guard chuckled. "Again, Sir?"

"Ha, yes, all the time."

"What is that, Sir?"

"… It's a flower that I've never seen before."

"Hmm," The guard examined it. "A rose maybe?"

"No."

"Well it must be rare then, I've never seen one like it. Then again, I don't know much about the subject." He laughed a little. "Did you, um, find it in the garden?"

"No, it's not from here."

"Begging your pardon, Sir, but you have seemed troubled over the last several weeks. Not to intrude, but have you considered finding someone to, well, possibly ease your stress?"

"I have thought about it, to tell the truth. But that is my problem and we should be focusing on other things. Are the reports in from the excavation yet?"

"Yes sir. They are downstairs waiting for examination."

"Good, perfect. Oh, I'm also curious, has there been any word from Lady Yuna since her disappearing act at the ceremony?"

"I don't believe so"

"Hm. Do you think you could track her? She may need our help."

"Right sir. I will do my best."

"I know. Proceed, Decan."

"Right away, Lord Issaru."

---

Tidus stepped into the enveloping darkness of the chamber of the fayth, relived. It was the end of the road, and there was nowhere left to run. She had to be in there.

The outer chamber was like a crypt without the decorative lights he'd remembered from his first visit. Back then he had wondered what the inner chamber would've looked like, and he still wondered. In his head it was large and mystical. Maybe there was some exotic smoke drifting around. And there were probably lots of candles. That was just what he'd expect from the burial chamber of an ancient spirit. 

It was a bit of a letdown, now that he was finally here. He could've been looking into a closet for all he knew; the only hint of space was the cool air that drifted from within. There probably wasn't much to see anyway, just the statue that held the fayth. And of course, the girl. 

"Okay! Enough running! I caught you, so come out!" His voice echoed off the walls, leaving the room as deathly silent as before. Tidus suddenly felt unsure. _Now's not the time to be afraid of the dark_, he told himself. He took another step and something happened.

A circle of deep blue light appeared in the center of the floor. It was barely enough to lift the darkness from the walls, but it gave Tidus an idea of the size of the room, which was pretty close to his expectations. In the circle, beneath the floor, there was a form of a woman. Her arms were crossed and a pair of dragon wings spread behind her. Tidus moved closer to get a better look. Shifting patterns of light, like the ones in the cloyster hall, glided over the statue's surface. He felt himself losing it again, slipping into a trance as he watched the hypnotic motions. 

Something else came into view, and he forced himself to snap out of it. He found what he was looking for standing right in front of him; the girl in the white robe was there, in the center of the fayth's circle. 

"_Tidus…"_ said a voice that seemed to come from the walls themselves. It was soft and deep. The doubt he felt melted away.

"_Tidus…_"

"Yes?" The girl looked up at him.

"_I… remember you."_ A pireflyemerged from the wall behind her, followed by another. Soon there were dozens floating around.

"I… who are you?" Tidus asked.

"_I…?"_ The pirefliescircled the girl. "_I am the servant."_ There was a ripple of wind in the room and the girl was lifted off the ground. "_I am the defender… I am the savior…"_

Tidus watched as the girl rose higher. The wind intensified, as the lights grew brighter. The voice became louder as well.

_"I am the DREAMER…" _Then the figure changed. Her robe fell away and a pair of great wings spread wide.

_"I AM THE DESTROYER-" _Then the voice halted and the creature shuddered violently. Tidus was out of breath and paralyzed. His mind froze and he could just stand on his useless legs and gape at what he saw. A pirefly passed through his chest, and another one through his arm.

"_… Tired"_ The voice echoed again through the room, weaker now. "_So tired of the dream…"_

As the words penetrated him, Tidus found his voice.

"The dream…? But it's over! You don't have to-"

"_No…"_ It said, slowly drifting down. "_But I remember… Tidus."_ It touched the ground and collapsed in slow motion to the fayth's glassy surface.

Finding his strength again, he stumbled over to the creature. She looked at him with lights in her eyes, and for a moment she smiled in a familiar way. He leaned closer and she kissed him.

_"Don't leave."_ She said, and everything went white.

_K, here it is fully edited and stuff! I'd like to thank Liquid Snake for doing an awesome job editing all my chapters for me, I don't know what I'd do without him._

_Anyway, I'm already working on chapter nine so check back in a few days_

_Oh and thanks for the notice about chapter 6 not showing up entirely, it was working for me but I uploaded it again anyway. Let me know if the problem persists and if there are any other technical things going on please let me know!_

_Thanks again, I hope you enjoy it this far!_


	9. Escape

Author's note(s): Ha… hey everybody ^_^; guess it's been a while huh? I was planning a bunch of excuses, (some of em were pretty good, too) but now that I'm about to put this up I guess the only thing I'm gonna say is I'm really bad at deadlines and stuff! Sorry! Oh and I had some technically difficulites and… stuff. Okay it sounded a lot better in my head. Whatever, here's chapter 9 which brings part 1 to a close! Party! I'll start working on the next chapter right away, but as I said, bad with deadlines. I'm looking for my new muse, my last one was a cat, but she never hangs around after breakfast and so I fired her… ok enough of this I'm done. Please Enjoy! 

Escape

I'm not supposed to be doing this, but I though you should know. It seems hard to believe, but trust me, it's him, I'd bet my life on it. I haven't had a chance to really talk with him yet; he said he was going for a walk to clear out his head, but I'll give you more information when I have it. Maybe we can arrange for a meeting sometime. Anyway, thank you for taking the time to listen to this, My Lady. I hope it reaches you soon. 

Gatta checked over the last part of the sphere one more time. It was kind of thrown together, but he didn't know how much time he had left and he needed to get it mailed. He did feel some guilt, but the news was too big to keep hidden. Tidus obviously didn't know how much his reappearance would affect Spira. This was the biggest thing to happen since the end of Sin.

Gatta nodded; it was the right thing to do. He had just finished the recording when two guards burst into the room. 

"Sir!" one of them said, gathering his composure and saluting. "Some yahoo just busted into the temple, sir! We couldn't do nothin to stop him!"

"Really? Did you see who it was?"

"Couldn't identify him, Sir." The other guard said. "But accordin to Biggs here, the guy was blond and wearin what looked like blitz gear."

"Oh, no." Gatta said.

---

A small plastic pick tripped across metal strings and the air detonated. 

It was overwhelming for Yuna at first, when they entered the concert hall. These sounds weren't music. The blasts of noise pounded with the lumbering monotony of a headache. She almost lost her balance following Rikku to a table. 

"We should at least let them know where we are!" She yelled. Rikku didn't answer, her eyes were closed and she was softly rocking her head with a contented look on her face, as if the crashing screams were some sort of lullaby. 

"I mean, this place is certainly… interesting, but" she trailed off, looking around the dark club. There _was_ something attractive about the energy in the place, even if it hurt her ears. It was certainly more interesting than being back home in any case. 

"But, well, what I mean is don't you think they'll be worried abou-"

"You think too much!" Rikku cut her off, giggling. "Just hang here, Yunie, I'll be right back." Then she disappeared in the sea of people.

Yuna didn't have anywhere to go, so she sat still and watched the glow coming off the underside of the tables. People dressed in crazy and exotic fashions moved around her and none of them paid her any extra notice. The band on stage below was breaking into a drum solo that threatened to take down the walls.

__

I do NOT think too much… she whispered. A familiar feeling came back as she hugged her bare arms: surrounded by people, but so very, very alone. 

Even the catcalls following the song seemed nice and quiet. Rikku had been gone for a while, so Yuna got up and walked to the edge of the balcony. The lights were down on the stage and some new equipment was being moved in. She wondered where Rikku went, and what Lulu and Kimahri were doing. She wondered about what would happen when they got back, what she would say and how she would have to apologize. Again. 

---

Blank had his guitar slung over one shoulder and was running his fingers down the strings, nervously. His neck was cold with sweat. He took a deep breath, trying to filter out the audience and the tight tickling sensations in his chest. It was hard to keep his hands still. 

Where he grew up they used to call it the butterflies, like having butterflies in your stomach. He remembered hating the feeling, but somewhere along the way he'd grown to love it. He was clenching his jaw and his arms felt loose and there was no denying he was alive, seriously alive, and it was beautiful. It's funny how things like that can change.

He was starring at the overhead lights for a while. They were empty during the setup. He used to wonder how they did it, hiding away like that. Where did they hide that energy inside? It was stupid, he realized, but he didn't need to be rational when he was backstage, anything keeping his mind occupied was usually good enough. The empty lights hung dormant overhead, waiting to explode at the first steps on stage and the thin electric hum that the amps made before plugging in. What a perfect scene, just like how he dreamed it would be; very surreal and all.

He looked away and found there wasn't much else to see, catching the eye of the black dragon. It had empty eyes like stage lights that were always the final judge of whatever it was they saw. It pissed him off the most when he saw the dragon, because it liked to judge him more than anything else. Always asking questions.

__

An idle mind is a dangerous thing, he thought, and then said aloud just to hear it. The crew had better hurry up, because he didn't feel like listening to his dragon and he didn't feel like thinking about those questions again. 

"_I am alive"_ he whispered aloud, just to hear it.

The band on stage was finishing up.

Those empty lights above him opened and beamed down. It was like an epiphany, or some kind of heavenly message. The platform he stood on raised up with a small hydraulic hiss. His heart always skipped a beat at that, and he let out half a breath. He pulled his dark glasses down to keep the glare out and brushed his hair back.

"Let's go," he said.

---

The Oasis club, a hotspot for drug transactions, illegal gambling, rebellious faction meetings and many other, equally perverse activities. It wasn't shocking, just another slimy pit in this city of self-indulged ignorance.

Zatch was pissed off. Bad enough he was stuck in this shit hole with a team of new recruits, but this was his third consecutive bullshit assignment. He'd had more than enough of this errand crap.

The last real job he could remember was a hunt out on the plains. Just thinking about it was the only thing keeping him going on nights like this. His team was planted for the perfect ambush. They had kept the position for two hours in the rain, covered every possible angle, and even after all that there were surprises waiting. The ensuing fight took down more than half his team. 

He sighed; those assignments were what made the job worth it. _Doesn't matter if it is the high summoner_, the thought as he came up through the crowd at the entrance. _Doesn't make it any more fun._

There were two heavy-set men standing at the gate, accepting tickets, but he didn't stop for either of them. 

"Whoa, where you think you're going, buddy?"

"My team is conducting a search of this facility. Official orders." He said.

"Really?" The guard laughed a little. The hunter gear Zatch and his unit wore was very advanced, though it didn't have the pristine and polished look of most official uniforms. "Let's see some ID, then."

"Listen," Zatch said, approaching the guard. "I'm not in the best mood right now, and I don't have the time or patience for you. I'm being kind, giving you the option of moving yourself, so I suggest you get out of my way as fast as you can."

"Hey, punk. I know the law, and I'm not letting you in till I see a ticket, or a warrant."

"Uh, he's got a point, Sir." One of the hunters said. Zatch turned on him and punched him hard in the stomach. Everyone was quiet as the man collapsed. Zatch reached down and pulled the guy's night vision goggles off, giving them to another member in the unit. 

"I don't use warrants." He said, without turning around. Before anyone could react, Zatch landed a back kick on the first guard with enough force to throw him against the wall. The second guard moved, but too slow. Zatch spun and shot him. Blood rushed from the hole in the guard's hand.

"Now I suggest you open the door with your good hand, unless you want to lose something else." He said, above the screams in the crowd. 

The second guard quickly complied, and Zatch led the rest of his unit into the darkness of the club. _I guess I'll just make my own fun._ He thought.

---

It starts quiet, like a distant thought coming back from a forgotten time, and it grows, building until you can feel it in your hands and the back of your neck. The sounds are strong and sad, wrapping you in a blanket of regret. And then they come together, melting into each other, twisting over, growing out of themselves, threatening to crash on down like a tidal wave, and you are completely lost.

__

Lu and Kimahri…who? We need to get back, get back and… then what?

The boy on stage looked about as old as she was, with dark hair and a smooth, young face. He wore a shirt without sleeves, and had tattoos on each arm. A dragon rode on the arm that hit the strings of his guitar, and a tiger clawed the other, gripping the neck. 

__

And everything you think of…

It was hard to believe that a boy so young and slim could be making those sounds. She looked closer to see what she was missing, what he had that made him so different, but he was just a kid. She couldn't see his eyes behind the dark glasses he wore, maybe that's where he kept his secrets. The glasses reminded her of… of someone. It was someone she knew well, but she couldn't picture it. After the song she'd remember, for now she didn't need to know.

__

All these sights…

She felt herself sliding, as her head came to rest in the cradle of her arms. _I wonder if anyone can tell when he cries,_ She thought.

__

All these sounds…

"Having fun yet?" Rikku shouted over the music. Yuna just smiled and nodded. 

"I told you Forbidden Machina rules. But you're lucky, seeing them live is the best thing there is and it's hard to get into the concerts, yaknow?" Rikku saw she wasn't paying attention, but she kept going. "Hey, I met these guys at they bar, and they really wanna meet you." 

__

Are echoes that you dream of…

She poked Yuna in the side. "Come on, let's go meet 'em. You don't even have to do anything, I'll do the talking, you just look cute, 'kay?"

__

When no one's around… 

Rikku was about to pull Yuna away but something stopped her. 

"Oh no." She whispered. Yuna followed her eyes. Several men with glowing visors were pushing their way past many annoyed kids. They were heading towards the balcony.

"Not good" Rikku glanced nervously, checking the exits.

__

I'll be here when the dream dies

"What's wrong? Who are they?" Yuna asked. She couldn't figure Rikku's tone.

"Not sure, but the don't look exactly friendly. We're gonna have to leave a little early."

__

I was lost

"Wait, can't we at least hear the end of the song?"

"Looks like they're all over this floor, we'll have to jump the balcony."

__

Never found

"These musicians are amazing. It's like they- huh?"

"Alright, you first!" Rikku said. She pulled Yuna's goggles over her eyes and pushed her up to the railing. "Trust me, all you have to do is-"

"Excuse me." The voice was muffled through a gas mask. Rikku spun and was face to face with a pair of mechanized telescopic goggles. She smiled innocently.

"I'm looking for two girls, a blond Al Bhed and one with brown hair. Would you mind…"

"Oh wait." Rikku said. "You mean like them over there?"

The man looked and Rikku grabbed his wrist, swept his legs out from beneath him with a kick, and flipped him hard onto his back. 

__

Looking up at golden skies

"Come on Yunie! Time to go!" she said pushing Yuna over the railing. Then she took the headgear off the fallen hunter and jumped after her. 

__

Never reach that place again.

--- 

It was still dark when Tidus awoke with a jolt. Images of the inner sanctum exploded in his head, but the chirping night bugs were there to reassure him. His eyes adjusted to the light, and he was back in the crusader's tent, surrounded by members of the guard. There was a lantern in the middle of the room that sent long flickering shadows across the walls. Some of them sat up when they saw him, moving to the ends of their cots.

"You okay?" Gatta asked. 

"Yeah." Tidus said, uncertain. "What time is it?"

"Late." He said.

"Or early, depending on how ya look at it." Said another guard.

"We found you passed out in the deepest chamber of the temple." Gatta continued. "What happened?" Tidus thought about it.

"I thought I, uh, saw something." He said, avoiding the eyes of the guards. "Guess I must've hit my head." He laughed a little.

"Well don't go there anymore. It's not the kind of place we can go searching for you all the time." 

Tidus nodded absently as he went over the event in his mind. He wondered for a second if he did hit his head, but the images were sharp. If all of it was real then something amazing had happened, and it didn't make any sense. Admittedly he didn't know half as much about Spirian theology as some people, but what he did know told him that stuff like this wasn't supposed to happen. He'd have to tell someone.

"Hey-" he started, but changed his mind. It would be better if he told someone who would believe him, or someone who could help at least.

"Uhh… where did everyone go? Yuna's guardians, I mean." A part of him didn't want to ask, but he had to. 

"Oh yeah!" Gatta said. "Let's see… well, sorceress Lulu is still with Lady Yuna, she became her advisor. After the pilgrimage Kimahri was knighted as a dragoon, so now he's up at the head of the Maestress's guard. Um, I heard Rikku got involved with the new Bikanel project, somehow her father got her into the design team or something. Wakka was given a seat in the council, but everybody knows he's still coaching the Aurochs off record. And, well, no one's seen Sir. Auron since the pilgrimage".

"But we've already got one guy back from the dead, so who knows?" one of the guard said.

"Yeah. I guess." Tidus smiled, trying to sound as optimistic as the others. 

"Hey Tidus," Gatta thought a moment on how he should ask. "Now that you've had time to think about it, could you, um, tell us where you've been all this time?"

Yeah, that's what I'd like to know… 

"I" Tidus started. "… I was lost."

"Huh? Lost where?"

At that he could only shrug.

"I don't really remember. It's all kinda… fuzzy," He said. Gatta nodded. It wasn't the answer anyone there was looking for, but he didn't push the subject. Some of the guards turned over in their cots and tried to sleep. Tidus did too.

Where could he go? Tidus closed his eyes tight. He wished Auron was there, he always knew what to do. But he was definitely dead, and he wasn't coming back. 

Who else? Lulu might know, but he ruled her out. They'd grown closer over time, but she wasn't the most understanding soul, and he didn't know if he could really explain his situation to her. It wouldn't be the warmest welcome.

Then… Yuna? 

__

No. Not yet, anyway.

That left Rikku, Wakka, and Kimahri. He thought about it a little and realized that he really wanted a friend, someone who could understand. Wakka probably wouldn't have any idea what was happening with the faith, but he was the only one who might not overreact, seeing Tidus coming back.

"Gatta?"

"Yeah?"

"Where is Wakka now?"

"… He'd be at Luca. The blitz tournament's in a week, you can find him there for sure."

"Thanks." Tidus said, before falling asleep. Then tomorrow he'd head for Luca.

__

I wonder where she is now 

---

__

Although Besaid was asleep, the night fires kept burning.

"In the morning he would leave…" Said the girl in the white robe to the wide-eyed children who snuck out of bed. "Early, before the sun rose, taking only the clothes on his back and an old familiar sword… It was a brave thing to do, when you think about it. Why do you think he went?"

The children thought.

"Maybe he's bored." Said one boy.

"Maybe he wants to go home." Said a small girl.

"Hm… it is possible," Said the girl in the robe. "But this man's home was destroyed, long ago."

"Then… then maybe he's looking for a new home." The girl offered. The storyteller did not speak for moment. Her eyes were hidden in a shadow, but the firelight caught her smile.

"He could be. I don't think anyone can truly say why he did, but I suppose there's little point in knowing. All that truly matters is that he did_ go that morning, seeking things left behind in a world where he didn't belong. And that is how this story begins."_

End Part 1


	10. Intermission

Intermission-------

Okay, time to use the bathroom and grab some popcorn at the concession stand, maybe get a gallon of 7up or something (or if you're really daring, go for the medium size soda .) Cause it's intermission! I'll just be answering a few questions and clearing some small things up, so if you only wanna read the story feel free to skip over this chapter.

Now, onto the halftime show…

Item one: Why am I posting this chapter?

There are many involved reasons, most of which would take hours to explain even IF I had a concise writing style. But it mostly boils down to buying me a little time before I have to post the next chapter. I know that may sound like a cheap trick, but I hope it works because I have a very busy schedule and I'm really crappy at keeping up with things ^_^;;

See, I handle the responsibilities in my life like this: there are things that I really want to do, and things that I really have to do. Because there's not nearly enough time to take care of all of it, I usually cut out about half the things I want to do and maybe 2/3 of what I have to do, which leaves time for sleeping (which is most important since I both want _and_ need it… -_- zzzz)

Here's a quick example, using my current day's list of things to do:

On the 'need to do' list there's:

-Study for history test

-Write lens essay for English (due Monday)

-Decrypt biology notes

-Write 5, 250 word essays for scholarship application

-Finish first two chapters of 'Bless Me Ultima'

-Fix an array program for C++

-Study Spanish verb endings

-Finish packet on subjunctafuntaperfect tense

-Beat ninja giaden

On the list of 'want to do' there's:

-Work on FFX chapter

-Get around to typing up werewolf-fluff short and post the sucker

-Pin down the first chapter of original fic

-Beat onimusha 1 with 'S' ranking before third comes out

-Brush up on my illustrating abilities (actually… this one's more like a life goal)

-Practice the fuel TAB I found yesterday

-Fold my math homework into little origami balls

-Beat FFX-2 (jeazus, I know)

-Learn the lyrics to 'One week' by bare naked ladies

-Write my own thesis on FLCL

-Learn Japanese

-Learn more origami to vary my collection of math art

You see? Now how much of that actually gets done in a given day? Well using this example, it'd probably come down to something like this

Have to do:

-Beat ninja giaden

-Write scholarship essay

-Sleep (remember this is a 'have to' _and_ 'want to' Today I'm just counting it towards 'have to')

Want to do:

-Work on FFX chapter

-Practice Fuel

-Fold math

-Learn Japanese 

__

and 

-the lyrics to 'One Week'

So maybe this is just me making more excuses, but that's just the story of my life ^^;

Next Item: some small things I want to address about the story and the reasons behind my reasons for doing them. 

First, the yuntidus thing (or like tidusxyuna or yunadus… whoa idk) Well I think this is my favorite matchup in the game (wonder why) and probably one of the reasons I started writing this thing, because I really like the story of their relationship. Yeah I know, shut up liquid. Anyway, the ending was really sad and sweet, and though I don't really think the game needed a sequel, I started thinking about how it would be if they saw each other again. 

In my defense as a guy, I'd like to bring up at this moment that I usually play Metal Gear Solid 2 on hard with no radar, and I watch a lot of gory scary movies. Now that I've got that out of the way

So a large part of my fic is the reunion of Tidus and Yuna, which I'm even looking forward to myself. n.n*

Saying that, I'd like to thank everybody for waiting so long with the story and for understanding that it's important to get some details of the story nailed down first. I knew how I wanted it to be when they saw each other again (not giving anything away) but I didn't want to drop it on you guys in the second chapter. That would be a little like… yaknow.

Next point I'd like to make is everything NOT involving the little Tid-na thing. As much as this is a story about them, I didn't want to just write a little love note for the main characters, so a lot of thought has gone into the rest of the FFX world and its atmosphere. I'm not sure how well I'm doing so far, but it's a work in progress and I'm trying to grab some of the more magical elements (ß not a pun) of the game. The presence of fayth are important in here too, so I'm trying to work with as much of the existing mythology as I can while keeping it a little new.

God knows how it'll turn out ^^;

On the topic of 'a little new' I think most of the OC's I've brought up so far are going to play major parts in the story, so you can look for them later on. 

Umm oh and a brief rant about outfits…

Yeah you shoulda known it was coming

FFX-2 is a mixed bag for me. Lots a good, with lots of scary. The job change thing is awesome, but that's also a mixed bag. Gunner=eww. Lady luck=yum. Samurai=cool. Gun mage=eh. Berserker= … well I think this thing's still got a pg rating so I'm going to keep my thoughts to myself on that one, but you get the idea. K so I love my original, shy, adorable yunie, but I agree that change isn't that bad. So that's where you get her costume change in my fic, which is basically just my own fan service. 

I went through a couple of different ideas for that, but I think I settled on something like a Chinese dress, only with more of yuna's traditional colors, a little al bhed-ness, and, uh, well a bow. Maybe you've noticed some other subtle changes I made to her character, but I didn't wanna blow it out of proportion and I * didn't * want to go where square-enix went. So she's changed a little, but she won't be shooting people!

Which brings me to my big complaint, which is: what's up with Yuna's gunner? No offence, but it looks like her costume was designed by a blind, gay, pimp with a tomb raider fetish! (I know, just go with it) k maybe that was a little harsh. I like her hair. w/e

__

Disclaimer: the above statement was in no way meant to offend blind people, or homosexuals, or pimps. But anyone still playing tomb raider oughtta be ashamed of themselves.

Right I think I'm about ready to return you to your regularly scheduled programming, but first I'll answer some points brought up by Rubber Duck-

Oh and first: Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! Really it's the reason I've been able to get this far in the thing, so thanks for the support and remember I don't mind constructive criticism, if you see anything that could be done better, just tell me. And thanx to all my personal friends for saving your reviews till lunch and English class!

K, Rubber duck was asking about timing with the second part, and I thought about it a little. I'm going to be releasing them chapter at a time like always, but I think I may make the chapters a little shorter to help me keep to some kind of schedule. It's so easy when all this stuff is already written! Like I kinda mentioned earlier, there's this other project that's been taking time from this fic and I reaaaaaaaaly want to see it in some kind of organized format. It's about an angel, It'll probably end up being very stupid but I've been thinking about it for a while, you know how it is. Anyway, I'll still be working as hard as I can to get the FFX chapters to you as fast as I can, even if it means bumping my scholarship essays off my list once in a while ^^.

Now let's get on with the show! I hope you're enjoying it so far!

-el madcow

aka

Natural High


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